Medical Physicists

Jorge E. Alpuche Aviles

Name: Jorge E. Alpuche Aviles

Credentials: PhD, MCCPM

Title:

  • Medical Physicist
  • Adjunct Professor (Physics & Astronomy)
  • Assistant Professor (Radiology)

Research Interests:

  • Improvements in HDR brachytherapy treatments
  • Electron treatments dosimetry
  • Knowledge-based planning treatment planning
  • IGRT for breast treatments
  • Emerging medical imaging modalities

Bio:

Dr. Alpuche Aviles obtained his undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics from Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan (Merida, Mexico).  He then moved to the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Canada) to obtain a PhD in the CAMPEP certified Medical Physics Program offered in the Department of Physics & Astronomy.  During his PhD he investigated how to exploit the information carried away from scattered photons to make breast images.  After completing his doctorate degree, he went on to complete a clinical residency at the CAMPEP approved CancerCare Manitoba Program.  The residency gave him a strong exposure to clinical duties like Treatment Planning, Dosimetry, LDR, HDR and Gamma Knife.  This residency also included a short term project as a Clinical Evaluator of Knowledge-Based Planning software.  This became a research interest along with the proper tracking of the breast during radiation treatments.  Dr. Alpuche Aviles became full staff in 2014 and has been involved in both LDR and HDR brachytherapy, plan reviews, dosimetry, electron consults, orthovoltage support and special treatments like TBI and TSI. He is currently the HDR Physics Lead where he pursues the improvement of HDR cervix treatments.  Dr. Alpuche Aviles is involved in, and enjoys teaching (both undergraduate and graduate classes), as well as research that leads to clinical development.

Publications: PubMed Links

James Beck

Name: James Beck

Credentials: M.Sc., MCCPM

Title: Medical Physicist 

Research Interests:

  • Investigating the accuracy of electron and photon dose calculation algorithms.
  • Clinical development through paperless process design, data mining and dosimetry

Bio:

James Beck (MCCPM) is a Medical Physicist specializing in the field of Radiation Therapy.  As head of the dosimetry group, he oversees commissioning and quality assurance of several linear accelerators and an orthovoltage treatment unit.  He has also been involved with patient treatments and quality assurance on the Gamma Knife since this program's inception in 2008.

James is motivated by the opportunity to use his technical background to impact patients and improve their journey through Radiation Oncology.

Publications: PubMed Links

Anita Berndt

Name: Anita Berndt

Credentials: Ph.D, MCCPM

Title: Section Head, Radiation Oncology Physics

Research Interests:

  • Data mining
  • Process improvement

Bio:

Dr. Anita Berndt is the Section Head of the Radiation Therapy Medical Physics Group at CancerCare Manitoba. She completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Manitoba. She oversees the day-to-day operation of the department and is a member of the Radiation Therapy Quality team. She leads the Gamma Knife physics group and helps out with treatment planning. Dr. Berndt has won CancerCare service awards for both her work in treatment planning and the Gamma Knife Program.

In her spare time, Anita enjoys hiking, camping, gardening and volunteering in the community.

Publications: PubMed Links

Susannah Hickling

Name:
Susannah Hickling

Credentials:
MSc, PhD, MCCPM, DABR

Title:
Radiotherapy physicist

Research interests:
Novel dosimetry techniques, respiratory motion management, image guided radiation therapy 

Bio:
Dr. Susannah Hickling is a radiotherapy physicist part of the Dosimetry, Treatment and Simulation and Gamma Knife teams. She also teaches the Physics of Radiation Therapy course offered to radiation therapy students at the University of Winnipeg and is active in the clinical therapy medical physics residency program at CancerCare Manitoba.

Dr. Hickling completed her graduate studies in Medical Physics at McGill University, where her research focused on the development of x-ray acoustic computed tomography for dosimetry applications. She then completed her Radiation Oncology Clinical Medical Physics Residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  

Publications:
Susannah Hickling - Search Results - PubMed (nih.gov)

Navid Khaledi

Name: Dr. Navid Khaledi

Credentials: PhD, MSc(×2), BSc, IMPC

Title: Medical Physicist

Research Interests:

  • Radiation Dosimetry
  • Monte Carlo Simulations
  • Treatment Planning
  • Development of new approaches and devices for treatment and dosimetry

Bio:

Dr. Navid Khaledi, with ten years of experience in Iran, embarked on his career due to a personal connection to cancer through his father's battle.

Dr. Khaledi's educational background includes a Bachelor's in Physics, a Master's and a Ph.D. in Medical Radiation Engineering, followed by a CAMPEP accredited Master's degree in Medical Physics from the Toronto Metropolitan University. His experience spans 2.5 MV photons for therapeutic applications, mixed electron-photon beam research, as well as gold nanoparticles for optimized treatment plans.

Internationally, he conducted research on proton-boron fusion therapy and microbeam proton therapy during two Research Fellowships at Fudan University, Shanghai. Returning to Iran, he served as the Medical Radiation Advisor at the Iranian Comprehensive Cancer Center, aiding in equipment selection and shielding designs.

Beyond his profession, he's passionate about Persian and Kurdish literature, with a deep appreciation for the mystical poetry of Rumi, enjoys hiking, engages in volunteer and technical work, and has a green thumb!

Dr. Navid Khaledi joined the radiation therapy program at the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre in 2023. With his wealth of experience, he can provide in-person support for patient treatments and take on a leadership role in implementing technical projects at WMCC.

Publications:

He has contributed to over 20 peer-reviewed articles and authored two books (in Persian) and a patent (Google Scholar).

Richard Lee

Name: Richard Lee

Credentials: PhD, MCCPM, FCCPM

Title: Medical Physicist

Research Interests:

  • Outcomes data analysis
  • Respiratory motion effects and management

Bio:

Richard is a Therapy Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba where he provides clinical support for various radiotherapy treatment techniques including SBRT.  Previously, Richard worked for the BC Cancer Agency for more than 15 years in many aspects of radiotherapy, most recently in respiratory gating and tumour tracking for SBRT liver treatments and ocular proton therapy.

Publications: PubMed Links

Boyd Mccurdy

Name: Boyd Mccurdy

Credentials: MSc, PhD, FCCPM, FCOMP

Title: Head of Radiation Oncology Physics Group

Research Interests:

  • In vivo patient radiation dosimetry using exit imaging
  • Exit dosimetry
  • Adaptive radiation therapy
  • Optimization in radiation therapy
  • Real-time tumour tracking.

Bio:

Dr. McCurdy is the Head of the Radiation Oncology Physics Group at CancerCare Manitoba.  He also holds academic appointments at the Associate Professor level in both the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Department of Radiology at the University of Manitoba.  He completed his honours undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, and both graduate degrees at the University of Manitoba.  His clinical residency training was completed at CancerCare Manitoba.  Dr. McCurdy also performed a one year sabbatical in research training at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital/University of Newcastle, in Newcastle, Australia.  He has supervised (and continues to supervise) many MSc, PhD, and post-doctoral research trainees, and is also active in the Canadian Medical Physics professional field through volunteerism with COMP (Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists) and CCPM (Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine).  He is an Affiliate Scientist with RIOH (Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology).

Publications: PubMed Links

Dr. Kelly McPhee

Name: Dr. Kelly McPhee

Bio:

Dr. Kelly McPhee is a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba, working in the Radiation Therapy Department.

Dr. McPhee obtained her BSc Honours degree in Physics and MSc degree in Medical Physics from the University of British Columbia.  She then moved to Edmonton, Alberta for her PhD in Physics at the University of Alberta.  During her graduate work, she focused on method development in quantitative MRI, including DCE-MRI, T1 and T2 mapping.  After completing her doctorate degree, Dr McPhee moved to Toronto, Ontario to complete a Clinical Radiation Oncology Physics Residency Program in the University of Toronto Department of Radiation Oncology, placed at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network.  

Publications: PubMed Links

Ryan Rivest

Name: Ryan Rivest

Credentials: PhD, MCCPM

Title:

  • Medical Physicist
  • Adjunct Professor (Physics & Astronomy)
  • Instructor (Radiology)

Research Interests:

  • Patient specific QA
  • Medical image analysis
  • IGRT

Bio:

Dr. Rivest is a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba, where he is the Lead of the Treatment and Simulation group and works within the Dosimetry and SBRT groups to support the Radiation Oncology Program.  Some of the tasks Dr. Rivest performs are LINAC quality assurance, treatment planning quality assurance, treatment and simulation protocol development, and supporting the SBRT, TBI and TSEI programs.

Publications: PubMed Links

Lawrence Ryner

Name: Lawrence Ryner

Credentials: PhD, MSc

Title:

  • Medical Physicist
  • Adjunct Professor (Physics & Astronomy)
  • Lecturer (Radiology)

Research Interests:

  • MRI and MR spectroscopy
  • Optimizing radiation therapy treatment planning in brain Gamma Knife treatment
  • HDR brachytherapy
  • LDR prostate brachytherapy

Bio:

Dr. Ryner is a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba, where he works within the Radiation Physics group to support the Radiation Oncology Program.  He also assists in the Imaging Physics group with MRI-related work.  He is involved in Gamma Knife, HDR brachytherapy and LDR brachytherapy.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Ryner worked for many years at the National Research Council Institute for Biodiagnostics as group leader for the Magnetic Resonance Research and Development group.  He obtained his PhD in Medical Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994, and his MSc in Medical Physics from McGill University in 1990.   He is an Affiliate Scientist with RIOH (Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology)

Publications: PubMed Links

David Kiyoshi Sasaki

Name: David Kiyoshi Sasaki

Credentials: MSc, MCCPM

Title:

  • Medical Physicist
  • Lecturer (Radiology)

Research Interests:

  • Advanced design and manufacturing of patient treatment devices
  • Optimization of patient scheduling
  • Use of respiratory gating for treatment simulation and delivery

Bio:

David Sasaki (MCCPM) is a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba, where he serves as the physics lead for treatment planning and as a brachytherapist and 3D printing specialist. Some tasks he is involved with are 3D printing and design of custom treatment devices, permanent prostate brachytherapy, HDR brachytherapy, and the development of new treatment planning and treatment techniques using the latest equipment and methods.

In addition to his clinical work, Dave provides instruction for the Medical Physics and Radiation Oncology Residency programs and CancerCare's School of Radiation Therapy. He has helped supervise several University of Manitoba physics graduate students.Dave sits on the national Quality Assurance and Radiation Safety Advisory Committee and has served as Associate Editor for several national Technical Quality Control guidelines.

In his spare time, Dave coaches his sons in hockey and soccer and enjoys running and building.

Publications: PubMed Links

Charles Schroeder

Name: Charles Schroeder

Credentials: M.Sc, MCCPM

Title: Medical Physicist

Research Interests:

  •  Accurate reporting of radiation delivered by linear accelerators and high dose rate brachytherapy units to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Bio:

Mr. Charles Schroeder works as a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba in Winnipeg. Charles has a Master's degree in Medical Physics, is MCCPM certified, and has over 15 years of clinical experience. Charles is involved in many clinical areas, including Gamma Knife treatments, Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy treatments, Radiation Treatment Plan Checking and a Radiation Protection Liaison with the Radiation Oncology Physics and Radiation Protection departments at CancerCare Manitoba. Charles' mission as a Medical Physicist is to ensure the correct dose and accurate location of every patient radiation treatment in a timely manner. Charles loves to hike, play floor hockey, and bird-watching.

Publications: PubMed Links

Eric Van Uytven

Name: Eric Van Uytven

Credentials: Ph.D, MCCPM

Title: Medical Physicist

Research Interests:

  • Breast MRI
  • EPID based in-vivo dosimetry, among other distinctions in the field.  
  • Novel real-time dose verification methods.

Bio:

Dr. Eric Van Uytven (MCCPM) is a Medical Physicist at CancerCare Manitoba, where he works within the Dosimetry and Treatment Planning groups to support the Radiation Oncology Program.  Some of the tasks he performs are LINAC quality assurance, treatment planning protocol development, and supporting the doctors with special treatment planning needs.

Dr. Van Uytven helps CancerCare Manitoba to work towards its goal of reducing and eliminating the burden of cancer on Manitobans by providing technical expertise and ongoing clinical development and refinement of cutting edge radiotherapy treatments.

Dr. Van Uytven loves to run, bike, do crossfit, and is working towards his pilot's license. 

Publications: PubMed Links

Niranjan Venugopal

Name: Niranjan Venugopal

Credentials: B.Sc.(Honours), M.Sc., Ph.D., MCCPM

Title:

  • Medical Physicist
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba

Research Interests:

  • The study of advanced imaging techniques (i.e. MRI, MRSI, and PET-CT), and its use in radiation treatment planning.
  • MRI pulse sequence development, MR spectroscopic imaging techniques, Ultrashort Echo Time imaging, quantum mechanical simulation of metabolites, and MR elastography. 
  • Developing methods in image processing, image registration, and image segmentation (using deep learning techniques).

Bio:

Dr. Niranjan Venugopal completed his B.Sc. Honours degree in physics from the University of Regina. Following this, he completed both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Medical Physics at the University of Manitoba. Soon after, he was accepted into the University of Toronto Department of Radiation Oncology, Clinical Radiation Oncology Physics residency program, and completed it in 2013. Before joining CancerCare Manitoba, Dr. Venugopal was a staff clinical physicist at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency in Saskatoon, where he also held academic appointments in the Departments of Oncology and Biomedical Engineering. During his career, he has supervised students and published papers in peer-reviewed journals. Currently, he is an active team member of the Radiotherapy Physics group here at CancerCare Manitoba.

In his spare time, Dr. Venugopal enjoys a variety of activities including spending time with family, playing rugby or soccer, learning east Indian classical music, and volunteering his time in the community.

Publications: PubMed Links