Varian Advanced Oncology Solutions Therapeutic Medical Physics Residency Program

About

Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) is seeking to fill available positions in our two-year therapeutic medical physics residency program. AOS is in the process of obtaining CAMPEP accreditation and will not begin the selection process until approved by CAMPEP. The current positions are based at the following five sites:

  • Site 1: City of Hope - Atlanta
  • Site 2: City of Hope - Phoenix
  • Site 3: City of Hope - Chicago
  • Site 4: Covenant Health Systems, Joe Arrington Cancer Center, Lubbock, TX
  • Site 5: Mercy Hospital - Springfield, MO

The residency program is two years in duration. The intent of the program is to train individuals who have elected to pursue a career as a clinician in community practice. The program will offer a practical and varied educational experience including training opportunities with a diverse set of equipment and treatment modalities.

Applicants must have obtained a graduate degree from a CAMPEP-accredited medical physics graduate program. Eligible candidates will need to have completed their graduate requirements prior to employment as a resident in the program. Both MS level and PhD level applicants will be accepted. There are two ways to apply for the Varian AOS Therapeutic Medical Physics Residency Program. Applicants are welcome to apply through the AAPM Medical Physics Residency Application Program (MP-RAP), which matches applicants to potential residency programs or directly. Applicants are encouraged to submit early as the number of eligible candidates is expected to exceed the number of interviews that can be granted.

Required to Apply

Candidates must also have the necessary paperwork to work in the United States.

Applying for the Residency Program

Varian Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) will be accepting resident applications once it receives CAMPEP accreditation. AOS will accept residents through the Match Program and will accept residents outside of the Match program.

About Varian

Learn more about Varian Medical Systems.

About Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions

Varian’s Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) harnesses the power of technology and clinical expertise to enable cancer care providers with a wide range of services that help support, enhance, and expand operations and improve outcomes for patients. AOS is powered, in part, by medical physicists and medical dosimetrists practice groups with expertise in medical physics, treatment planning, commissioning, software development, and program implementation. AOS offers a competitive salary and benefits.

If you are interested in learning more about the Varian AOS Therapeutic Medical Physics Residency Program, please contact Deborah Calhoun-Spriggs at: deborah.calhounspriggs@varian.com or (412) 365-0737

Residency Steering Committee:

  • Brent D. Murphy, MS, DABR: Program Director
  • Kevin Khadivi, PhD DABR: Assistant Program Director
  • Sushil Beriwal MD, MBA, FASTRO, FABS.
  • Karan Shah, M.D., MBA, DABR
  • Sanford Meeks, PhD
  • Rupak K. Das, PhD
  • Yuri Ellis, MS, DABR
  • AJ Carper, MS, DABR
  • Jikun Wei, PhD, DABR
  • Ryan Lipscomb MS, DABR, Member of Steering Committee
  • Olivier Gayou, PhD DABR
  • Kayla Brown, MS, CMD

Program Graduates

Varian AOS anticipates its first residents will graduate in 2024 or 2025 depending on when CAMPEP accreditation is received.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Varian Advanced Oncology Solutions?

Varian is a leader in the oncology space with products, software, and services. Advanced Oncology Solutions (AOS) harnesses the power of technology and clinical expertise to enable cancer care providers with a wide range of services that help support, enhance, and expand operations and improve outcomes for patients.

Where are the residency positions located?

Varian AOS currently is establishing five clinical residency sites:

  • Site 1: City of Hope - Atlanta
  • Site 2: City of Hope - Phoenix
  • Site 3: City of Hope - Chicago
  • Site 4: Covenant Health Systems, Joe Arrington Cancer Center, Lubbock, TX
  • Site 5: Mercy Hospital - Springfield, MO

Residency sites are selected based on adequate equipment resources, patient workload, and mentor resources.

How long is the residency?

The Varian AOS residency lasts two years. Many residents will start on July 1 of each year. This is to be consistent with AAPM’s match program timeline. Residents that are accepted outside of the match may start at a time other than July 1, but efforts will be made to start the resident at a logical time within the program schedule. The purpose of the residency program is to train residents to become clinical medical physicists. We have divided the two-year program into several rotations, including:

  • Clinical patient management
  • Imaging
  • Patient Simulation
  • Contouring and treatment planning
  • Patient QA
  • Treatment delivery
  • Special procedures to include SRS, SRT, and SBRT
  • Radiation Instrumentation
  • Radiation safety
  • Brachytherapy
  • Clinical program development
  • IS/EMR

For each area, residents will read specified publications, acquire new skills, complete a project, and pass an exam that assesses mastery of the topic. All 3-month rotations are performed at the clinical site. (Details are listed in the residency handbook).

Does the program take MS candidates or PhD candidates?

The Varian AOS Therapeutic Medical Physics Program accepts both MS and PhD candidates. The residency program does not have a third year focused on research. The program is ideal for the candidate who is interested in becoming a clinical medical physicist. Although there is not a third year dedicated to research, residents will have opportunities to engage in small physics research projects. These projects are typically oriented towards new technologies, new procedures, and data analytics. Varian AOS will support residents financially to attend regional and annual association meetings.

What is the interview process?

Varian AOS will participate in the AAPM common residency application, but you also may apply directly. Resident applications are reviewed in January of each year. Resident applications are evaluated, and virtual interviews are scheduled for the top candidates. These virtual interviews typically take place using videoconferencing tools like Teams, Zoom, or equivalent. Top applicants from the video interviews are scheduled for an on-site interview. On-site interviews will be conducted at the respective clinical site. These will typically occur in March. Varian program leadership will either be onsite or available virtually during the on-site interviews. The candidate will have the opportunity to meet the program director, associate program directors, physics mentors, dosimetrists, facility radiation oncologists, and facility administrators. At the conclusion of all interviews, AOS will submit the top candidates to the AAPM National Match Program. Varian will pay up to $2,000 for relocation expenses

Residents may enter the AOS residency program outside of the match. The interview process will follow the same process but may be on a different timeline. AOS will determine the ideal time for a resident outside of the match to start the two-year program.

Bios

Brent D. Murphy, MS, DABR

Program Director

Brent Murphy is a seasoned medical physicist with over 30 years of experience in radiation oncology. He obtained his BS from Purdue University and pursued graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. Murphy co-founded Global Medical Physics, Landauer Medical Physics, and CTSI Oncology Solutions, and has a strong emphasis on clinical training and education. Currently, he serves as Varian's Therapeutic Medical Physics Residency Program Director and Senior Director of Professional Services for Varian's Advanced Oncology Solutions. Throughout his career, Murphy has mentored over 20 medical physics interns and helped prepare more than 1,000 medical dosimetrists for their MDCB exams and 400 medical physicists for their ABR exams.

Kevin Khadivi, PhD, DABR

Assistant Program Director

Kevin O. Khadivi is a Board-certified medical physicist. He serves as the Assistant Program Director of the Varian AOS Medical Physics Residency Program. He holds BS and MS degrees in Aerospace engineering. After obtaining his PhD in medical physics, he completed a post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins Hospital. For more than two decades he has served several radiation oncology centers, holding leadership positions over the last 17 years. Beyond program development and implementation, his present areas of interest are automation, high-level problem solving, brachytherapy and radiation safety. He and his family live in Austin, TX.

Sushil Beriwal MD, MBA, FASTRO, FABS.

Varian physician representative, steering Committee

Dr. Beriwal completed his radiation oncology residencies in India and the US, later working at UPMC from 2004 to 2021 in various roles, including Medical Director, Residency Program Director, and Deputy Director. Specializing in gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, he focused on IMRT/IGRT and MRI-based HDR brachytherapy. Dr. Beriwal has published over 325 articles, served as an ABR board examiner, and received numerous awards and fellowships. He is currently a Professor of Radiation Oncology at Drexel University, Academic Chief at Allegheny Health Network, and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Varian.

Karan Shah, M.D., MBA, DABR

Physician representative, Steering Committee Member

Dr. Shah, originally from India, completed his BS in Biology and MBA at Loyola University Chicago, followed by his MD at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. He finished a Transitional Internship and Radiation Oncology Residency, becoming Chief Resident in 2014. He has published research, authored a phase I protocol, and serves on the Health Policy Council of the American Society for Radiation Oncology. As Clinical Assistant Professor at Rosalind Franklin University and a radiation oncologist at City of Hope Chicago, Dr. Shah is skilled in various radiation therapy techniques and is committed to clinical research, innovative treatments, and patient-centered cancer care.

Sanford Meeks, PhD

Member of Steering Committee

Dr. Sanford Meeks earned his PhD in Medical Physics from the University of Florida and was certified by the ABR in 1997. He held faculty positions at the University of Florida and the University of Iowa before becoming the Director of Radiation Oncology at Orlando Health in 2004. Dr. Meeks has a strong research background in stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, and image-guided radiotherapy, with over 130 publications and 20 book chapters. He initiated an accredited medical physics residency program and has received numerous accolades, including being elected as a Fellow of the AAPM and receiving the ABR Lifetime Service Award. Dr. Meeks has served on the AAPM's Board of Directors and held editorial positions in medical journals.

Rupak K. Das, PhD Professor (Retired)

Member of Steering Committee

Dr. Das was the Program Director for the Radiation Oncology Physics Residency Program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1999 to 2015. He was an examiner for the American Board of Radiology (ABR) in Tucson, Arizona from 2002 until 2014. Dr. Das has served the American Association of Medical Physics (AAPM) through participation in a working group on the co-ordination of Medical Physics Residency Programs (2007-2015), and also as a member of the Education and Training of Medical Physics Committee (2007-2013). For ABR, he has been an examiner with the Oral Boards (2002-2014), as well as a member of a working group on New Item Development.

Yuri Ellis, MS, DABR

Associate Program Director

Yuri Ellis holds a BS from Loyola University, Chicago, and MS degrees in medical radiation physics and medical imaging sciences. Board certified by the American Board of Radiology, he began his career with US Oncology in 2000. In 2002, he joined Advanced Therapy Consulting, later working with Global Physics Solutions and Landauer Medical Physics, supporting the clinical program at City of Hope. Currently, he serves as Director for Physics/Dosimetry at Varian/AOS, managing all City of Hope operations.

AJ Carper, MS, DABR

Associate Program Director

AJ Carper is a clinical medical physicist who attended Purdue University for both undergraduate and graduate studies, completing an MS in medical physics in 2007. He completed his ABR board certification exams in 2011, and most recently, has served as Associate Site Director for the Landauer residency program at City of Hope Chicago.

Jikun Wei, Ph. D, DABR

Associate Program Director

Dr. Wei is the Chief Medical Physicist and Associate Site Director of the Landauer residency program at the City of Hope Atlanta site. He obtained his PhD in medical physics from Purdue University in 2005 and ABR board certification in Therapeutic Medical Physics in 2009.

Olivier Gayou, Ph. D., DABR

Commissioning Track Leader

AOS Senior Director of Physics Commissioning, Dr. Olivier Gayou, brings nearly 20 years of experience to Varian, with interests in process improvement and software development. Prior to Varian, he held leadership positions at the John D. Cronin Cancer Center and Allegheny General Hospital. Dr. Gayou has published over 40 research papers and contributed to several books on radiation oncology. ABR board certified in therapeutic medical physics, he is an active AAPM member, holds a PhD in experimental nuclear physics, and trained as a postdoctoral researcher in medical physics at Allegheny General Hospital.

Kayla Brown, MS, CMD

Dosimetry Track Leader, Member of Steering Committee

Kayla Brown is the Quality Improvement (QI) Manager and a Senior Medical Dosimetrist for Varian. She has spent the last eight years working in fast-paced environments utilizing multiple planning systems to produce the highest standard of care for patients. As the QI manager, she is dedicated to ensuring continued quality improvement and providing education for dosimetrists throughout the enterprise. Ms. Brown completed her undergraduate degree in biology at Valdosta State University in 2011, and then earned a masters degree in medical dosimetry at John Patrick University in 2014. She obtained MDCB board certification in 2016.