Dr. Ishmael Parsai, chief medical physicist in the UT Radiation Oncology Department, and professor and director of the Graduate Medical Physics Program, has been elected president-elect of the Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Program.
The Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Program is an independent organization that aims to advance the collective mission of enhancing medical physics educational opportunities in the areas of radiation oncology and diagnostic imaging.
Parsai
“It is truly an honor to be selected for such a key position in our field,” Parsai said. “This position will allow me the license to survey the progress of graduate students and trainees throughout the United States and Canada. This will have a directly positive impact on our own graduate students and trainees. In our program, we will have the ability to gauge its progress compared to our colleagues nationally, which will, in turn, substantially improve our educational methodology for our students.”
With nearly 30 years as a practicing medical physicist, Parsai is a member of numerous scientific organizations and has fellowships in the American College of Radiation Oncology, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and the International Organization of Medical Physics.
He is also highly active in the scientific community, having published 59 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings in preferred journals, six book chapters and 143 abstracts. Parsai has given 73 paper and poster presentations at national or international meetings, and has authored or co-authored six patents, three of which are licensed for production by manufacturers. He also has four provisional patents in progress.
“In this new position, I believe through the exchange of information, knowledge and ideas, I will be delighted to share some of my experiences in training medical physics students with other colleagues in hopes of empowering them and the next generation of medical physicists, as well as bringing home some new ideas to further improve our own programs,” Parsai said. “My hope is to continue to significantly develop our programs locally here at The University of Toledo, and to help advance levels of education and training on the national stage.”
The Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Program aims to promote better coordination between academic medical physics programs; to foster establishment of best practices; to monitor production of students relative to the job market; to help new programs get started; and to serve as a voice for academic program directors.
