Physics Division

The Physics Division of the Department of Radiation Oncology within the Karmanos Cancer Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, is one of the premier medical physics groups in North America. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, under the leadership of Coolidge Award winner and past president of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and International Organization of Medical Physics, Dr. Colin Orton, the physics division became a worldwide leader in clinical research and development as well as medical physics education.

WSU has been an international leader in modeling the biological effects of radiotherapy, research and clinical application of HDR brachytherapy, 3D conformal radiotherapy, fast neutron radiotherapy, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), and image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). We were one of the first two centers in the world to implement the Nucletron Microselectron HDR unit, among the first radiotherapy centers to implement 3D conformal radiotherapy, an early pioneer of the virtual simulation process, and have been a worldwide leader in neutron radiotherapy. In the mid 1990’s, the first Gamma Knife in the state of Michigan was installed at WSU. Over the past decade, pioneering work on radiotherapy treatment planning systems, intensity modulated radiotherapy optimization and quality assurance, image guided radiotherapy techniques, and biological optimization of radiotherapy have kept our department at the forefront of radiation oncology research and technology.

The Physics Division also boasts one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious medical physics graduate training programs. The WSU program was, along with the University of Wisconsin, the first accredited medical physics graduate program in North America and has trained nearly 1 in 20 practicing medical physicists in the US.

Our medical physics residency program was also one of the first in North America and our graduate students and residents have been the recipients of numerous awards for excellence. Since the late 1970’s, the graduate program has been under the direction of only three individuals, two of which served as president of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and won the Coolidge Award, the most prestigious award in the field of medical physics. The program has produced many graduates who have gone on to illustrious careers in medical physics research, education, and clinical practice. Our continued commitment to excellence in medical physics training, research and clinical development helps us remain as one of the nation’s premier medical physics groups.