Team and History

The history of RDS spans more than half a century, beginning in 1968 with the Texas Regional Medical Physicists (TRMP) program, established under the leadership of Robert Shalek. TRMP was created to support its member physicists through services such as mailed TLD output checks, dosimetry review visits, computer-based dose calculations, and equipment loans. In 1974, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded six Centers for Radiological Physics, with TRMP among them. These centers ultimately evolved into the NCI-funded Radiological Physics Center (RPC, now the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core IROC-Houston), which serves radiotherapy facilities participating in NCI-funded clinical trials. Notably, Susan Smith, associate lab director, has been part of this legacy since the TRMP era, reflecting a remarkable continuity of expertise and institutional knowledge.

RDS was formally established in 1985 to provide independent, peer-reviewed output checks for radiotherapy facilities not served by the NCI-funded RPC. Under the visionary leadership of Marilyn Stovall, who directed RDS for 30 years until her retirement in 2015 following 65 years of service to UT MD Anderson and cancer patients, the program expanded significantly across the United States and internationally. Celebrating the Life and Career of Marilyn Stoval

Building on this strong foundation, Rebecca Howell, Ph.D., assumed leadership in 2015 and has continued to advance the program’s reach and impact. Over the decades, RDS has grown into a trusted leader in independent peer review, setting the standard for quality, reliability and partnership in radiotherapy dosimetry.