All times are listed in EST (GMT -5).
Emerging Smarter: How Covid-19 is Reshaping the Future of Radiation Medicine
February 4, 2021 from 2:00pm EST to 3:45pm EST
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted numerous lives and dramatically impacted the health care systems. On the flip side, it has served as a catalyst for the transformation of radiation medicine, research and education.
In this section, physicist Dr. Wayne Beckham and physician Dr. Arjun Saghal provide their views of how the fields radiation oncology and medical physics are changing in response to the pandemic. The panelist will comment on the clinical evidence for and safety of rapid uptake of hypofractionation and SBRT protocols in clinics across Canada in 2020. The participants can expect to learn about factors that play a role in the permanent and wide-spread integration of hypofractionation in the clinic. Research activities both at the bench and clinical levels are undergoing transformations as well, and the panelists will present commentaries addressing scientific concerns. In this session, we will spotlight creative initiatives of the session participants that are paving the way for improved and re-invigorated cancer care.
Speakers / Panelists
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Emerging Smarter: How Covid-19 is Reshaping the Future of Radiation Medicine
February 4, 2021 from 2:00pm EST to 3:45pm EST -
Emerging Smarter: How Covid-19 is Reshaping the Future of Radiation Medicine
February 4, 2021 from 2:00pm EST to 3:45pm EST -
Opening Remarks
February 1, 2021 from 11:00am EST to 11:15am EST -
Closing Remarks
February 4, 2021 from 3:45pm EST to 4:00pm EST -
Adaptive Approach to SBRT
February 3, 2021 from 1:30pm EST to 3:30pm EST -
Emerging Smarter: How Covid-19 is Reshaping the Future of Radiation Medicine
February 4, 2021 from 2:00pm EST to 3:45pm EST -
Team Communication in SBRT
February 2, 2021 from 12:00pm EST to 1:30pm EST -
Emerging Smarter: How Covid-19 is Reshaping the Future of Radiation Medicine
February 4, 2021 from 2:00pm EST to 3:45pm EST
Wayne Beckham, PhD, MACPSEM, FCCPM, FCOMP
Wayne Beckham is the Provincial Medical Physics Leader for BC Cancer, the sole provider of comprehensive cancer care for British Columbia. He is also the Regional Medical Physics Leader and site Radiation Safety Officer for Class II radiation devices and for PET/CT at BC Cancer – Victoria. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Victoria (UVic) and also the UVic/BC Cancer – Victoria Medical Physics Graduate Program Director. Wayne’s primary research interests involve using leading edge radiation treatment technology to improve patient care. He has authored or co-authored 64 publications in peer reviewed international journals and contributed to over 150 conference presentations.
He has served in a number of volunteer roles in national and international organisations. He is the current President of the Canadian Organisation of Medical Physicists. He served as the President of the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) in 2014-2015 and as Registrar of the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine from 2003 to 2009.
Amr Heikal, PhD, MCCPM
Amr Heikal is a CCPM certified Physicist at the Cross Cancer Centre in Edmonton, AB. Amr is an active member of the SBRT team treating lung, liver, spinal metastases. Amr is also a member of the Gamma Knife, and the Gynecological brachytherapy teams. Amr has a particular interest in resident training, treatment planning, and automation and scripting. This is Amr's second participation in the Winter School having been an organising committee member for the 2018 Winter School.
Marija Popovic, PhD, FCCPM
Dr. Marija Popovic is a board-certified staff Medical Physicist at McGill University Health Centre and Assistant Professor in the Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology at McGill University. She earned a PhD in Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON and then completed a clinical residency in Medical Radiation Physics at Juravinski Cancer Centre. Before moving to Montreal, Marija worked for the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program.
Marija chairs the Education Committee of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP). In this role, she ensures that strong regional and national programs are in place for continuing professional development of medical physicists and trainees. She works to promote excellence in the quality and safety of care, and sees the COMP Winter School as a strong platform to promote innovative clinical strategies.
Marija continues to serve on several AAPM committees, including the AAPM Summer School, Awards Selection, Committee on Medical Physicists as Educators and Teaching and Mentoring Workshop Subcommittee.
Arjun Sahgal, BSc, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Arjun Sahgal is an international clinical and research leader in the field of high precision stereotactic radiation to the brain and spine for both metastases and primary tumors. After training at the University of Toronto in radiation oncology, he completed a radiosurgery fellowship at the University of California San Francisco. He has published, as lead or as a contributor, over 500 peer reviewed papers including in high impact journals like the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, and New England Journal of Medicine. He leads the Sunnybrook Odette CNS Neuro-Oncology program that has been awarded a total of $42.5 M in funding since his leadership. Currently, he serves as Deputy Chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto affiliated Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre. In addition, he is the director of the Sunnybrook Cancer Ablation Therapy (CAT) program which involved the installation of a MR Brachytherapy suite, MR Linac and Gamma Knife Icon technology. His next phase of research is in the development of MR in radiation therapy, and the application of MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Technology with radiation. He recently showed in the SC24 randomized trial superiority of spine SBRT as compared to conventional radiation.