Dr. Rowan Thomson
Professor
Department of Physics
Carleton University
Canada
Biography
Dr. Rowan Thomson Associate Professor, Medical Physics
Research Interest
Despite the widespread application of radiotherapy for cancer treatment, questions relating to the interactions of radiation with matter remain. Further, emerging treatment modalities prompt new areas of investigation. My research program involves the development and application of computational techniques and theoretical approaches to study the interactions of radiation with matter, with an emphasis on research questions relevant to radiotherapy. The approaches taken are generally theoretical and computational, often involving Monte Carlo simulations. Over the last few years, I have been developing BrachyDose, a fast Monte Carlo simulation package for brachytherapy (radiation therapy via radioactive source implantation). BrachyDose is currently being deployed at cancer centres for treatment planning and evaluation, in addition to being used for dosimetry studies for ocular, breast, lung, and prostate cancer treatments. I'm interested in fundamental questions regarding the interactions of radiation with matter. I'm investigating radiation transport and energy deposition on cellular and subcellular levels. Future work will investigate prospective treatment modalities such as radiotherapy delivery using nanodevices.
