UWA Medical Physics Group

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UWA Medical Physics Group

Medical Physics Group at UWA has achieved excellence in the training of medical physicists in the broad field of radiation oncology and diagnostic imaging.

01/09/2026

Last week, we celebrated the graduation of Dr. Godfrey Mukwada, and four Masters graduates, Dashiell Green, Clarissa Nazareth Tuscano, and Isla Myoung, at UWA.

Congratulations to All, especially Godfrey, who not only successfully completed a , but also became an Adjunct Associate Professor at .

As Head of Physics in Radiation Oncology at SCGH, Godfrey has made significant contributions to the teaching and research supervision of our postgraduate students over the past 10 years.

His dedication to education, research, and collaboration has been greatly valued by our team, and we look forward to continuing this successful collaboration in the future.

https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/godfrey-mukwada/

UWA Engineering and STEM, North Metropolitan Health Service, Australasian College of Physical Scientists & Engineers in Medicine,

27/08/2026

Congratulations to our PhD candidate, Kaylee Molin, on her publication.

This systematic review and meta-analysis provides valuable insights into the prognostic role of baseline PSMA PET imaging biomarkers in patients undergoing Lu-177 therapy.

A significant contribution to the field and a well-deserved achievement 👏

UWA Research North Metropolitan Health Service Charlies Foundation for Research

17/08/2026

Congratulations to our PhD candidate, Brendan Wright, and the team on the publication of part of his research!

Their paper, "Robust optimisation for photon radiotherapy: A scoping review of models, paradigms, and reporting" has been published in and — the Green Journal, one of the leading international journals in oncology.

The study provides a comprehensive overview of how robust optimisation is being used to account for uncertainties in photon radiotherapy planning.

Unlike conventional margin-based planning, robust optimisation explicitly models uncertainties such as patient set-up errors, respiratory motion and anatomical changes during the optimisation process. The team reviewed 71 studies published between 2000 and 2025 to examine the different uncertainty models, optimisation approaches and methods used to evaluate treatment plan robustness.

The review found that scenario-based worst-case (minimax) optimisation is currently the most commonly used approach in clinically oriented studies, while newer methods such as chance-constrained, conditional value-at-risk, distributionally robust and adaptive optimisation remain less developed.

Importantly, the review identified substantial variation in how uncertainties and treatment plan robustness are modelled and reported, making it difficult to directly compare results across studies.

The findings demonstrate that robust optimisation is technically feasible and can maintain or improve target coverage and organ sparing compared with conventional margin-based planning. However, greater standardisation of uncertainty modelling, optimisation methods and robustness reporting is needed to support wider clinical implementation.

This work provides valuable guidance for researchers and clinicians working towards more reliable and uncertainty-aware radiotherapy planning, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment accuracy and patient safety.

Congratulations to Brendan and all the co-authors on this excellent contribution to advancing radiotherapy treatment planning and the clinical implementation of robust optimisation!

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2026.111709

North Metropolitan Health Service, UWA Research,

14/08/2026

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Simon Goodall has successfully completed his PhD! 🎓

Simon’s thesis, “Safe, Accurate and Precise Spine Stereotactic Radiotherapy in Clinical Practice,” addresses some of the key challenges in delivering modern spine stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), where highly precise radiation delivery is required to treat spinal targets while protecting the nearby spinal cord.

This research was undertaken in collaboration with GenesisCare, combining academic research with clinical expertise to address real-world challenges in .

His research has made important contributions to dose calculation accuracy, small-field , patient-specific quality assurance, linac-to-linac consistency, and the dosimetric impact of spinal implants. Importantly, his work provides practical guidance to help departments deliver spine SBRT more safely, accurately and precisely.

The research resulted in five peer-reviewed publications including:
1- Goodall SK, Ebert MA. Recommended dose voxel size and statistical uncertainty parameters for precision of Monte Carlo dose calculation in stereotactic radiotherapy. J Appl Clin Med Phys.
https://lnkd.in/gmWBD_2c

2- Goodall SK, Rowshanfarzad P, Ebert MA. Correction factors for commissioning and patient-specific quality assurance of stereotactic fields in a Monte Carlo based treatment planning system. Phys Eng Sci Med. 2023;46:735–745.
https://lnkd.in/g36JqPai

3- Goodall SK, Dunn L, Dunning J, et al. Matched linac stereotactic radiotherapy: An assessment of delivery similarity and distributive patient-specific quality assurance feasibility. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2022; 23.
https://lnkd.in/gQ6T_cwR

4- Goodall SK, Rampant P, Smith W, et al. Investigation of the effects of spinal surgical implants on radiotherapy dosimetry: A study of 3D printed phantoms. Med Phys. 2021; 48:4586–4597.
https://lnkd.in/gza-2Q6Q

5- Goodall SK, Tonkin K, Rampant P, et al. Advantages of carbon fibre-reinforced polyetheretherketone over titanium implants in spine SBRT: a phantom evaluation. Phys Eng Sci Med. 2025; 48:1325–1336.
https://lnkd.in/g77EyjNd

This is a fantastic achievement and a significant body of work with clear clinical relevance to the safe delivery of high-precision radiotherapy.
Well done Dr. Goodall! 👏🎓

We are very proud of your achievement and wish you every success.

UWA Research, GenesisCare, Australasian College of Physical Scientists & Engineers in Medicine

05/08/2026

Congratulations to our PhD graduate, Dr. Godfrey Mukwada, and the team on the publication of part of his research! 👏

Their paper, "Increasing Demands on Commissioning and Quality Assurance for Cone-Based Multiple Brain Metastases Robotic Radiosurgery: Evaluation in a Custom Phantom," investigated how accurately CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery treatment plans perform when treating patients with multiple metastases.

Using a custom-built phantom that mimics realistic patient treatments, the team found that treatment planning methods that work well for simple cases may not be accurate enough for more complex cases involving multiple tumours that are close together or require different prescription dose levels. In these situations, the Monte Carlo dose calculation algorithm showed much better agreement with the measured radiation dose than the commonly used Ray Tracing algorithm.

This work highlights the importance of thoroughly testing and validating treatment planning systems before they are used for complex brain radiosurgery, helping ensure that patients receive the intended dose safely and accurately.

Congratulations to Godfrey and all the co-authors on this excellent contribution to improving the quality and of ! 🎊

Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-026-01765-9

UWA Research, North Metropolitan Health Service,

28/07/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our Masters graduate Joshua Ierace and the team on publishing his Master's research! 👏

Their study, "From Point Sources to Phantoms: Refining Dose Rate Models in Nuclear Medicine with Tc-99m, F-18, I-131 and Lu-177", provides experimentally validated dose rate models that more accurately estimate radiation exposure from nuclear medicine patients.

By moving beyond the traditional point-source assumption and incorporating realistic phantom models, this research offers improved estimates of radiation dose at clinical distances. These findings can support safer clinical practice, more informed radiation protection decisions, and better planning for healthcare workers involved in nuclear medicine procedures.

Congratulations to Joshua and all co-authors on this excellent achievement and valuable contribution to nuclear medicine research! 🎊

Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13246-026-01775-7

Australasian College of Physical Scientists & Engineers in Medicine, UWA Research, North Metropolitan Health Service,

18/07/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our Masters graduate Theo Lucas and the team on publishing part of his Masters project in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging! 👏

The study validated an AI-based method for automatically tracking prostate cancer lesions between PSMA PET/CT scans, achieving over 95% agreement with expert clinicians.

This technology can help doctors compare scans more quickly and consistently, supporting more reliable treatment response assessment and improving prostate cancer care.

Congratulations to Theo and all co-authors on this fantastic achievement!

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-026-08071-2

14/07/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our Medical Physics Masters student, Stephen Omodunbi!

We are delighted to congratulate Stephen on his outstanding performance at the 2026 Judo Australia National Championships.

Stephen competed against some of Australia's best judoka, earning a Silver Medal in the Senior Men's Kyu Grades Division.

Competing at a national level while pursuing postgraduate studies is a remarkable achievement that reflects dedication, discipline, and perseverance.

At UWA Medical Physics, we are proud to celebrate the diverse accomplishments of our students, both inside and outside the classroom.

Congratulations Stephen! We wish you continued success in both your academic journey and future competitions! 🥋🏅

05/06/2026

Congratulations, Ashlesha Pikes, on presenting part of your research at !

Your presentation appears to have been very well received, and the findings from this study may help shape future margin recommendations.

Great to see impactful research that has potential to improve care for patients with .

UWA Research North Metropolitan Health Service Charlies Foundation for Research

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03/06/2026

Great to see our students, Kaylee Molin, Allison Ng, and Aleena Cris Livingston participating in the Girls Programming Network event organized by the UWA Data Institute.
Well done!

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The University Of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, CRAWLEY
Perth, WA
6009

Website

https://www.uwamedicalphysics.org/

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