I have a broad background in medical physics with specific training and expertise in research, education, leadership, and clinical excellence in radiotherapy. I am currently the Director of Medical Physics and the Small Animal Radiation Program in the Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology. My experience and interest are principally in translational clinical radiation oncology including image guided therapy, nanomedicine, and imaging for therapy response and personalized medicine. I am a nationally and internationally recognized expert in linac based TMI technique which I developed and implemented in clinic. My work has demonstrated clinical feasibility and outcome benefit through four Phase I and two Phase II clinical studies for AML and MM. I have provided training and helped national and international institutions to implement this promising technology. I am active in the development of nanotechnology platforms for theragnostic applications. My research on targeted nanogold contrast agent for cancer diagnosis and therapy has been awarded a full patent in 2016. More recently, we have received an R01 grant, in collaboration with Northwestern and Case Western. Our goal is to improve prostate cancer therapy by providing better definition and targeting of tumor with PSMA and Gd (MRI) which requires advanced image guided preclinical radiation therapy capabilities.

After completing my PhD in Medical Physics at the University of Chicago, and two years at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto I returned to Chicago.  Broadly, during that time, my work focused on advanced CT reconstruction methods combined with novel image acquisition strategies for CBCT imaging in IGRT applications which were driven by real clinical needs through regular contact and involvement of clinical staff. Some highlights from that work include the development of dynamic collimation hardware for dose sparing in region-of-interest imaging tasks, iterative reconstruction methods for using non-planar imaging trajectories to extend the imaging field-of-view and a novel method to use combined kV and MV projection data for fast, artifact robust images.  Since returning my interests and research involvement has continued to broaden to include Small Animal IMRT, EPR oximetry, an imaging-based motion management for IGRT.

I have an academic background as an instructor, administrator and researcher in the fields of Radiation Physics, Medical Physics, and Biophysics. I am currently working as a Medical Physics Research Prof. in the Radiation and Cellular Oncology Department. Thanks to my work in multidisciplinary fields, I have published studies in journals of many different disciplines. My research covers a wide range of topics, such as radiation dosemeters, luminescence applications, clinical radiation therapy applications, Monte Carlo simulations, and FTIR spectroscopy. In my academic work, my artificial urine study, which accurately mimics human urine at the molecular level, has been swiftly employed in numerous studies across diverse fields. With the gains of the FTIR device in the analysis of urine at the molecular level, we showed that this device can be used as a screening tool in renal hyperfiltration and Autism Spectrum Disorder patients. I’m currently focusing on evaluating the performance of FTIR spectroscopy in the clinical pathway of cancer. In addition, I am taking part in a project where the aim is to evaluate the ETHOS treatment planning system in oligomet patients.

I enrolled as a Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Medical Physics at UChicago in 2020 shortly after completing my undergraduate studies at Berea College, where I majored in physics with a minor in mathematics. Throughout my undergraduate years, I participated in various research projects, primarily focusing on nuclear physics and fundamental symmetries. One notable experience during my sophomore year was my involvement in the Neutron Optics Time Reversal Violation Experiment at Los Alamos National Lab. As part of the project, I contributed to the construction of a magnetic field mapper for spin flip calculations. Additionally, I participated in shorter projects such as developing an image recognition program in MATLAB based on principal component analysis and working on Arduino-based projects, including the construction of an electromyogram circuit. For my Ph.D. research, I am concentrating on integrating tumor oxygenation into cancer treatment planning using two approaches. Firstly, I am focused on developing an oxygen-sensitive device that utilizes electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure oxygen in deep-seated tumors. Secondly, I am investigating the potential of combining low-dose whole-tumor radiation with hypoxia-targeted histotripsy to address hypoxic radioresistance while minimizing the risk of radiation-induced side effects. Beyond my primary research interests, I am also exploring other areas such as the application of ultrasound-sensitive microbubbles to facilitate the opening of the blood-brain barrier and enable brain EPR oxygen imaging, the development of a method for task-based evaluation of fluoroscopy image quality within the imaging suite, and small animal IMRT.

I’m a 3rd year undergraduate student at Loyola University Chicago pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience with a minor in the Arabic language. During the summer of 2024, I am working on an internship at the University of Chicago, on the small animal IMRT project with the Aydogan Lab. Specifically, I will be working on the development and implantation of a small oxygen-sensitive device that uses electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure oxygen levels in deep-seated tumors. Furthermore, I will be working on the analysis of animal urine using FTIR spectroscopy in the pathway of cancer. I am excited to learn many new research skills such as small animal handling, EPR oxygen imaging, and urine analysis in the FTIR device.