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About University of Galway
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Guiding Breakthrough Research at University of Galway
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Accessibility & LanguageMedical Physics
Medical Physics Research Cluster
The Medical Physics research cluster was founded by Dr Mark Foley in 2006. In 2016 & 2024 the academic PI’s in the group have expanded to include Dr Christoph Kleefeld and Dr Michael Martyn. The PI’s Research interests are in the fields of Medical Imaging, Radiation Physics and Radiation Therapy. Over the past decade the group has developed new insights in the Medical & Radiation Physics fields including the applications of Monte Carlo codes in Radiotherapy and novel Medical Imaging systems with collaborators nationally and internationally. More details below.
PhD available from September 2024. Details linked here; MPRC PhD
Dr Mark Foley
Dr Michael Martyn
Dr Christoph Kleefeld
Dr Niall Colgan (2016 - 2023)
Dr Le Chi Hung - Postdoctoral Researcher
Dr Rihab Djabou - Researcher
Marcin Krasny - Research assistant
Cormac Kerins - PhD candidate
Matt Dodek - MSc candidate
Kevin Byrne - PhD candidate
Parisa Taheri Foroushani - PhD candidate
Saleh Alanezi - PhD candidate
James Blackwell - PhD candidate (PhD completed in 2023)
Diseases such as tumours and fibrosis, are known to alter the mechanical properties of the soft tissue. Therefore, accurately measuring the mechanical properties of soft tissue may help the diagnosis of these diseases and the monitoring of their development. My project involves creating stiffness maps, called elastograms, of soft tissue such as the brain or prostate using ultrasound shear waves. Along with creating elastograms, I also want to develop and characterise agar soft tissue ultrasound phantoms using destructive testing and non-linear analysis.
Awards:
Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship, Irish Research Council 2018-2022
Gideon Oluniran - research MSc candidate
Research investigates novel optimisation methods for cellular and sub-cellular fluorescence imaging using mathematical, computational, and photonic techniques to improve spatiotemporal resolution.
Collaborator:
Centre for Research in Medical Devices (CURAM), National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland.
Marta Fuente Lastra - PhD candidate (2020 graduation)
Mohammed Al-aswad - PhD candidate (2021 graduation)
Majed Alharbi - PhD candidate (2020 graduation)
In 2022, Majed took up an academic post as Assistant Professor of Physics at Jouf university, Saudi Arabia
A collaborative research project includes the School of Physics, the Institute of Cancer Research in London, the Optical Fibre Sensors Research Centre at the University of Limerick and the Dept. of Radiotherapy Physics in the Galway Clinic. The aim of which is to characterise novel optical fibre sensors, benchmark their response against Monte Carlo models and Gafchromic film measurements. The novel sensor can then be used in a wide variety of applications such as to investigate the dosimetric effect of using ultrasound imaging for image guidance for radiotherapy.
Ahmad Albngali - PhD candidate (2021 graduation)
Michael Martyn - PhD candidate (graduated 2018)
On completion of his PhD in 2018, Mike was employed as a Medical Physicist in Radiotherapy @ University Hospital Galway.
Collaborators include:
- Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.
- University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Research focuses on the role of ultrasound imaging in radiation therapy - with an emphasis on modelling the effect of ultrasound probes on radiation dosimetry. This is achieved through the development of computational models, based on the Monte Carlo software packages BEAMnrc and DOSXYZnrc.
Awards:
- Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine UK – Travel bursary award 2016
- Irish Association of Physicists in Medicine/Imaging Equipment Ltd. - Imaging Equipment Ltd. Bursary 2015
- College of Science, National University of Ireland Galway – PhD fellowship award 2013 - 2016
Gillian Gunning - PhD candidate (graduated 2016)
Collaborators include – Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland & Trinity College Dublin
Margaret Toohey - research Masters graduate 2016
Collaborators include – UHG & NCBES
On completion Margaret joined Valeo Vision Systems (Valeo is the world’s leading provider of driving assistance systems to automotive manufacturers).
Gordon Sands - PhD candidate (completed 2016/17)
On completion of his PhD, Gordon was employed as a Senior Medical Physicist at Oxford University Hospitals, UK.
Gordon is a Medical physicist with CAMPEP accredited residency completed.
The project aims to develop a set of tools (Radiation Oncology System Safety Analysis ROSSA) which will allow the users of complex radiotherapy systems to assess the risks and safety gaps in their system. The result of this will be safer and more accurate radiotherapy. This will be of benefit not just to Radiotherapy, but also to a large number of other areas in health care as ROSSA can be adapted to systems such as Radiology (PACS), Clinical information Systems in ICU and Cardiology.
RPII IRRS research award 2012
Health Research Board – funding award 2010
Ronan Havelin - PhD candidate (graduated November 2013)
On completion of his PhD, Ronan was employed as a Senior Design Engineer at ASML, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA.
Collaborators include – Prof. Harrison Barrett CGRI, University of Arizona, US & Prof. Frank Barry, REMEDI & Dr Róisín Dwyer, National Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI)
A collaborative research project involving the School of Physics, REMEDI and the Center for Gamma Ray Imaging at the University of Arizona. The aim of which is to develop a small animal imaging system tailored for REMEDI’s needs.
Ronan completed a study spell at CGRI, University of Arizona, USA (Nov 2010 - June 2012).
Newport Research Excellence Award – August 2013
SPIE: Optics + Photonics travel grant – June 2013
Sean Walsh – PhD candidate (graduated November 2012)
On completion of his PhD, Sean was employed as a Senior Scientist at the Maastro Clinic, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
This project involves the development of mathematical models to predict the radio-biological response of a radiotherapy patient (e.g. the prostate and lung). The project also incorporates the development of a computational model for the movement and deformation of the tumour and organs at risk.
IRRS Research Award
Tumour Targeting & Radiotherapies Network of the Cancéropôle Grand-Ouest France Research Award
Elaine Conneely - PhD candidate (graduated March 2012)
On completion of her PhD, Elaine was employed as a Diagnostic Imaging intern at UHG.
Collaborators include – Professor Jan Seuntjens, MPU McGill University, Montreal, Canada
A collaborative research project established with the Medical Physics Unit at McGill University, Montreal. The aim of which includes beta testing and developing MMCTP, a radiotherapy research environment which will provide a platform for Monte Carlo and patient-specific treatment planning comparison.
McGill University Research Fellowship (2010)
IPEM Bursary Scheme Award
IRPG Research Award
IoP Research Award
Tuathan O Shea – PhD candidate (graduated March 2012)
On completion of his PhD, Tuathan was employed as a Postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London.
Collaborators include Professor Bruce Faddegon, Comprehensive Cancer Centre, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), USA
This project is focussed on using Monte Carlo methods for dose calculation, and establishing fast means of dose calculation for depth penetration and output calculation using the accurate beam models which are being developed for a NIH funded project.
Mount Zion Health Fund (MZHF) Award (2009)
University of California Exchange Programme scholarship (2008)
Cancer Research Ireland Oncology Scholars Travel Award (2007)
Patrick Downes – PhD candidate (graduated June 2011)
On completion of his PhD, Paddy was employed as a clinical medical physicist at Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, UK.
His PhD researched and developed a fast and lightweight Monte Carlo dose calculation method for the verification of patient treatment. An accurate model of the linac was developed through comparing the model against measurement, and optimised for efficiency. The developed model was compared against a commercial dose calculation algorithm for a number of patients. Speed-ups were obtained through the use of High Throughput Computing.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:
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