Research
Research Overview
Our residency program is a three-year program consisting of, in aggregate, two years of clinical instruction and one year of research. The primary objective of research rotation is to facilitate the residents' continued growth in critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. These proficiencies are not only valuable for their application in clinical physics but also pivotal for their future roles as leaders in the field of medical physics. The program incorporates research training alongside clinical training, ensuring a coordinated approach that maximizes the residents' learning experience. In particular, a resident will spend 50% of their time, or 6 months, in research rotation in the first year of residency training, and 25% of their time, or 3 months, in the rest two years. The research rotation is fully supported by the department.
Research Projects
During orientation, the new resident will be presented a list of research projects that cover a wide range of on-going research and development programs in the department. These projects are chosen by the faculty to have a high probability of being completed within the one-year research rotation. During the orientation and the first clinical rotation, the resident will have opportunity to review proposed research projects and to talk to the principal investigators (PIs) of these projects. The resident’s areas of expertise and areas of interest will help identify a good match for a project. The program wants the residents to be motivated and involved in a research project that they are interested.
The resident needs to decide the primary research project two weeks before the start of the research rotation. The PI of the primary project will become the research mentor of this resident.
Resources and Expectations
Each year, the program provides $2,500 to support the academic activities of each resident. In addition, a wide variety of support systems for research exists including research coordinators, biostatisticians, editorial services and internal/external seeds funding opportunities.
The residents are expected to:
1. Present their research progress once per year in the departmental research meeting.
2. Attend and present at local RAMPS Chapter meetings such as Young Investigator Symposium (YIS).
3. Present their work at major national conferences such as AAPM or ASTRO.
4. Produce publishable work during their residency.
Evaluation and Feedback
The research mentors are responsible for the research project during the research rotation. They review progress of the residents on the assigned projected at monthly intervals and issue a formal report to the program director at quarterly intervals during the research rotation. The resident will submit a quarterly evaluation on the research mentor and rotation.
Research Outcomes
Resident Peer-Reviewed Publications
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
Resident Conference Abstracts & Presentations
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017