Clinical Imaging Medical Physics Residency Program

The Clinical Imaging Medical Physics Residency Program began on July 1, 2013. It was selected as a recipient of the Imaging Physics Residency Grant sponsored by the AAPM and RSNA in 2014. Program statistics are shown below:

*Residency program started July 2013

The Clinical Imaging Medical Physics Residency Program is administered under the Department of Radiology and the Committee on Medical Physics. The Department of Radiology at the University of Chicago includes 44 clinical faculty members with M.D. degrees and 15 physics faculty members with Ph.D. degrees or M.D./Ph.D. degrees. The department succeeds in its tripartite mission of education, clinical care, and research through the close interactions of its clinical and physics faculty in their daily efforts. The clinical facilities at the University of Chicago include Mitchell Hospital, an adult hospital facility; Comer Children’s Hospital with 172 beds; the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, a 525,000 square foot outpatient clinic and surgery facility; the Center for Care and Discovery, a 436-bed hospital; and a Level I Trauma Center. There are several remote facilities – Orland Park, Dearborn, Homewood, and South Loop. In addition, a new imaging facility at downtown Chicago opened in 2023. The Department of Radiology operates facilities in all of these locations to provide multidisciplinary care and education. The medical physics residents have access to these facilities for their clinical training.

You can review our equipment here.

Standardized Curriculum over 2 years:

• Clinical Orientation – 4 weeks
• Radiography – 8 weeks
• Fluoroscopy – 6 weeks
• Interventional Radiology – 6 weeks
• Mammography Rotation – 8 weeks
• Computed Tomography – 10 weeks
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging – 12 weeks
• Ultrasound – 6 weeks
• Nuclear Medicine and PET – 20 weeks
• Imaging Informatics – 6 weeks
• Radiation Safety – 4 weeks

We seek candidates with an excellent foundation in medical physics and a strong desire to thrive in a clinical environment. Preferred candidates should have a Ph.D. degree in medical physics from a CAMPEP-accredited graduate program or have a CAMPEP-accredited certificate in medical physics.

We are registered with Medical Physics Match and accept applications through AAPM Medical Physics Residency Application Program (MP-RAP). The two-year residency commences on July 1. The application must include a comprehensive curriculum vitae, statement of personal interests and goals, three letters of reference, and official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate studies.

Resident Peer-reviewed Journal Articles:

1. X Jiang, M Baad, I Reiser, KA Feinstein, ZF Lu, “Effect of comfort pads and incubator design on neonatal chest radiography”, Pediatric Radiology, 2016; 46: 112-118. (This article was featured on the newsletter of Applied Radiology by staff news brief: http://appliedradiology.com/articles/comfort-pads-and-incubator-design-impact-radiation-dose-of-neonates)
2. KJ Little, I Reiser, L Liu, T Kinsey, AA Sánchez, K Haas, F Baker-Mallory, C Froman, ZF Lu, “Unified database for rejected image analysis across multiple vendors in radiography”, J Am Coll Radiol 2017; 14(2):208-216. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2016.07.011
3. AA Sánchez, I Reiser, T Baxter, Y Zhang, JH Finkle, ZF Lu and K Feinstein, “Portable abdomen radiography: Moving to thickness-based protocols”, Pediatric Radiology, 2018; 48(2):210-215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-017-4025-4
4. E Marshall, C Joswiak, L Douglas, E Pearson, ZF Lu, H Al-Hallaq, I Reiser, "Development of a compact inkjet-printed patient-specific phantom for optimization of fluoroscopic image quality in neonates," Proc. SPIE 10948, Physics of Medical Imaging, 109484W (2019).
5. EL Marshall, D Olivera Velarde, N Baughan, N Reiser, C Guo, JP Bastida Cruz, K Feinstein, I Reiser, ‘Task-specific evaluation of clinical pediatric fluoroscopy systems,’ SPIE Medical Imaging, San Diego, CA. (February 21, 2022)  http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2613006
6. KF Blunt, EL Marshall, C Guo, ZF Lu, I Reiser, “Technical Note: Water-equivalent thickness of Superflab bolus material at diagnostic x-ray energies”, Medical Physics, 2023; 50:1237-1241. PMID: 36482752 http://doi.org/10.1002/mp.16147

Resident Conference Presentations:

1. X Jiang, M Baad, I Reiser, K Feinstein, ZF Lu, “To remove or not to remove: comfort pads from beneath neonates for radiography”, oral presentation at AAPM annual meeting, Austin, TX, July 20-24, 2014.
2. X Jiang, A Dachman, I Reiser, K Little, ZF Lu, “Staff radiation protection for oropharyngeal motility studies”, poster presentation at 2015 AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, St. Louis, MO, March 7-10, 2015.
3. Baad M, Jiang X, Reiser I, Lu ZF, Feinstein K:  “Effect of comfort pads and incubator design on radiation dose and image quality of chest radiographs in neonates.”  Presented at the Fifty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society for Pediatric Radiology, Seattle, WA, April 29, 2015.
4. K Little, Z Lu, H MacMahon, I Reiser, “Effect of image processing parameters on nodule detectability in chest radiography”, Oral presentation at the 2015 AAPM annual meeting, Anaheim, CA. (Best in Physics Award), July 12-16, 2015.
5. K Little, L Liu, K Haas, A Sanchez, I Reiser, Z Lu, “Unified database for rejected image analysis across multiple vendors in radiography”, finalist in young investigator clinical symposium, 2016 AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, March 5-8, 2016.
6. Z Lu, K Little, I Reiser, V Kagan, A Sanchez, H MacMahon, “Electromagnetic Interference Artifacts in Digital Radiography Caused by Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD)”, poster presentation in 2016 AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, March 5-8, 2016.
7. M Baad, A Sanchez, K Little, I Reiser, Z Lu and K Feinstein, “Ultrasound artifacts: where have all the shadows gone?”, education exhibit, The International Pediatric Radiology 7th Conjoint Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 15 – 20, 2016.
8. A Sanchez, M Baad, K Little, I Reiser, Z Lu and K Feinstein, “The old and the new – How time-tested antiscatter grids interact with portable digital radiography technology”, oral presentation, The International Pediatric Radiology 7th Conjoint Meeting and Exhibition, Chicago, IL, May 15 – 20, 2016.
9. A Sanchez, K Little, M Baad, I Reiser, ZF Lu and K Feinstein, “Investigating the interplay of antiscatter grids with modern detectors and image processing in digital radiography”, poster presentation, the AAPM 58th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, July 31 – Aug 4, 2016.
10. A Sanchez, K Little, J Chung, ZF Lu, H MacMahon, and I Reiser, “Validation of a Channelized Hotelling Observer to Optimize Chest Radiography Image Processing for Nodule Detection: A Human Observer Study”, oral presentation, the AAPM 58th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, July 31 – Aug 4, 2016.
11. K Little, I Reiser, A Sanchez, J Chung, H MacMahon, and ZF Lu, “Effect of CT Reconstruction Filter On Measured Hounsfield Values in Lung Nodules”, oral presentation, the AAPM 58th Annual Meeting, Washington DC, July 31 – Aug 4, 2016.
12. K Little, L Liu, K Haas, A Sanchez, CM Froman, T Kinsey, I Reiser, ZF Lu, Application of a Unified Database for Rejected Acquisition Analysis in Radiography, Quality Storyboards at 2016 RSNA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, Nov. 27 – Dec. 2, 2016.
13. A Sanchez, I Reiser, Y Zhang, J Finkle, Z Lu, K Feinstein, “Transitioning to thickness-based protocols in pediatric abdomen radiography”, poster presentation at 2017 AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 18-21, 2017.
14. Sanchez A, Reiser I, Baxter T, Zhang Y, Finkle J, Lu Z, Feinstein K, "Portable Abdomen Radiography: Moving to Thickness-Based Protocols", oral presentation at the 2017 Society of Pediatric Radiology Annual Meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 16-20, 2017.
15. A Magee, A Purakal, I Reiser, ZF Lu, K Kulkarni, C Straus, A Sanchez, C Yang, “Allow me to introduce you: facilitating medical student exploration of the field of diagnostic radiology through an interactive, multi-format expo”, accepted to the 2017 ACR Annual Meeting, Washington DC, May 21-25, 2017. (selected as High-impact Abstract)
16. A Sanchez, I Reiser, T Baxter, Y Zhang, ZF Lu, K Feistein, “Analyzing portable abdomen radiography techniques to guide size-specific pediatric protocol development”, oral presentation at 2017 AAPM Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, July 30 – Aug. 3, 2017.
17. Y Zhang, K Little, A Sanchez, I Reiser, J Chung, H MacMahon, ZF Lu, “Measured Hounsfield Units in Lung Nodules Varies with CT Reconstruction Filters and Slice Thickness”, ePoster presentation at 2017 AAPM Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, July 30 – Aug. 3, 2017.
18. Wang S, Zhang Y, Fan X, He D, Medved M, Antic T, Yousurf A, Karczmar G, Oto A, “Comparison of Cardiac Output Calculated from Low Dose Ultra-fast DCE MRI to the Values Measured from Cardiac MRI, 26th Scientific Meeting, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Paris, France, June 2018.
19. E Marshall, ZF Lu, Y Zhang, J Finkle, K Feinstein, I Reiser, and A Jones, “When to Use a Breast Shield in Pediatric CAP CT Studies: Understanding the Limitations of Global Dose Reduction Strategies”, submitted for oral presentation at the AAPM Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, July 29 – August 2, 2018.
20. A Sanchez, I Reiser, T Baxter, Y Zhang, J Finkle, ZF Lu, and K Feinstein, “Implementing Thickness-Based Protocols in Pediatric Portable Abdomen Radiography”, submitted for oral presentation at the AAPM Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN, July 29 – August 2, 2018.
21. EL Marshall, T Baxter, G Anderson, Y Zhang, ZF Lu, D Schacht, I Reiser, K Kulkarni, “Embracing EQUIP in our daily mammography environment: best practices and lessons learned (the EQUIP way or the highway)”, 2018 RSNA Annual Meeting, ePoster presentation, Chicago, IL, Nov. 25 – 30, 2018.
22. EL Marshall, C Joswiak, E Pearson, ZF Lu, H Al-Hallaq, I Reiser, “Development of a compact inkjet-printed patient-specific phantom for optimization of fluoroscopic image quality in neonates”, 2019 SPIE Annual Meeting: Conference on Medical Imaging, Poster presentation, San Diego, CA, Feb. 15 – 21, 2019.
23. JH Finkle, E Marshall, I Reiser, Y Zhang, ZF Lu, A Jones, KA Feinstein, “Bismuth breast shields for pediatric patients undergoing CT chest, abdomen, and pelvis: the benefits”, presentation at Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) 2019 annual meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 30-May 4, 2019.
24. EL Marshall, W Klejch, T Kinsey, J Spano-Rzepecki, V Mamyan, A Dachman, I Reiser, ZF Lu, “Dose Reduction and Standardization in Enteric Tube Placement Portable Radiography”, oral presentation at 2019 AAPM Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, July 14-18, 2019.
25. V Mamyan, EL Marshall, ZF Lu, I Reiser, “Toward a Meaningful Figure-Of-Merit for CT Image Quality Assessment During Routine QC”, poster presentation at 2019 AAPM Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, July 14-18, 2019.
26. K Blunt, A Clarey, E Marshall, Z Lu, A Dachman, I Reiser, “Appropriateness of Using Portable Radiography to Detect Retained Foreign Objects: Quantification of Suture Needle Detection”, oral presentation at 2020 AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, April 4-7, 2020. (Finalist in the Young Investigator Competition). Meeting was held in virtual format.
27. E Sellers, E Marshall, ZF Lu, I Reiser, K Ficarrotta, S Ong, KA Feinstein, “To Shield or Not To Shield: That Is the Question”, accepted for Educational Exhibit at 2020 SPR Annual Meeting, Maimi, FL, May 9-15, 2020. Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
28. K Blunt, E Marshall, J Cruz Bastida, A Clarey, Z Lu, A Dachman, I Reiser, “Model Observers Predict Radiologists’ Detection of Retained Foreign Objects in Homogenous and Anthropomorphic Backgrounds”, Oral presentation at the AAPM annual virtual meeting, July 12 – 16, 2020. (K Blunt is the Jack Krohmer Junior Investigator Competition Winner.)
29. K Blunt, A Clarey, E Marshall, ZF Lu, I Reiser, A Dachman, “Developing a Reference Library of Simulated Retained Foreign Object Radiographs”, Poster presentation at the RSNA annual virtual meeting, Nov. 29 – Dec. 5, 2020.
30. JP Bastida Cruz, N Baughan, EL Marshall, K Blunt, K Feinstein, I Reiser, ‘Towards the objective assessment of fluoroscopy systems: development of a framework to aid the design of tasks and metrics,’ SPIE Medical Imaging, San Diego, CA. (February 15, 2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2581089
31. C Guo, ZF Lu, A Sanchez, J Chung, I Reiser, “Safeguarding your reading environment: Avoiding pitfalls when radiologists work from home”, Poster presentation at the AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, April 17-20, 2021 (Virtual)
32. S Martens, C Tierney, C Guo, ZF Lu, A Sanchez, J Chung, I Reiser, “Radiology adapts to COVID-19: optimizing remote reading environment to detect low contrast image features”, Poster Presentation at the ACR Annual Meeting, May 15-19, 2021 (Virtual)
33. C Guo, A Sanchez, ZF Lu, E Marshall, J Chung, I Reiser, “Design of a display test pattern to assess ambient light levels in a radiologists’ reading environment”, ePoster Presentation at the AAPM Annual Meeting, July 25-29, 2021 (Virtual)
34. SG Martens, C Tierney, C Guo, ZF Lu, A Sanchez, G Estrada, J Chung, I Reiser, “Surge in Remote Reading Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Need for Optimized Remote Reading Environments”, Quality Improvement Poster, 2021 RSNA Annual Meeting, Nov. 28 – Dec. 2, 2021.
35. EL Marshall, D Olivera Velarde, N Baughan, N Reiser, C Guo, JP Bastida Cruz, K Feinstein, I Reiser, ‘Task-specific evaluation of clinical pediatric fluoroscopy systems,’ SPIE Medical Imaging, San Diego, CA. (February 21, 2022)  http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2613006 (Poster Award)
36. C Kofler, I Reiser, E Marshall, ZF Lu, K Feinstein, M Zaritzky, “Development of An Ultra-Low Dose Computed Tomography Protocol for Detection of Inhaled Foreign Bodies in Pediatric Patients”, ePoster Presentation at the AAPM Annual Meeting, July 10 – 14, 2022, Washington DC.
37. D Olivera Velarde, E Marshall, J Cruz Bastida, N Baughan, C Guo, K Feinstein, I Reiser, “Application of a Psychophysical Staircase Method for Determining Detection Thresholds in Fluoroscopic Imaging”, Oral Presentation at the AAPM Annual Meeting, July 10 – 14, 2022, Washington DC.
38. CC Onyema, ZF Lu, S Sammet, 2023, “Evaluating velocity accuracy of a Pulsed Doppler ultrasound system using a Doppler flow phantom”, oral presentation by CC Onyema as a finalist in the Early-Career Investigator Symposium during the AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, April 1-4, 2023, Orlando, FL.
39. C Kofler, I Reiser, E Marshall, ZF Lu, K Feinstein, M Zaritzky, 2023, “Development of an ultra-low dose Computed Tomography protocol for detection of inhaled foreign bodies in pediatric patients”, oral presentation during the Society of Pediatric Radiology 2023 Annual Meeting, May 16-20, 2023, Austin, Texas.
40. E Marshall, I Reiser, K Blunt, ZF Lu, 2023, “Clinically integrated approach to teach radiation safety in interventional radiology”, ePoster presentation, Arthur Boyer Award for Innovation in Medical Physics Education, the AAPM Annual Meeting, July 23 – 27, 2023, Houston, TX.
41. B Yu, ZF Lu, C Onyema, C Kofler, K Little, 2024, “Practical considerations for implementing AAPM TG126 during acceptance testing of a new PET/CT system”, accepted for the BEST POSTER COMPETITION presentation at the 2024 AAPM Spring Clinical Annual Meeting, March 23 – 26, 2024, St. Louis, MO

Posters at UCM Annual Quality and Safety Symposium:

1. X Jiang, A Dachman, I Reiser, K Little, ZF Lu, “Staff Radiation Protection for Oropharyngeal Motility Studies”, May 5th, 2015.
2. K Little, I Reisder, ZF Lu, F Baker, T Kinsey, L Cole, K Dill, S Montner, A Funaki, B Greenberg and H MacMahon, “Image Quality and Radiation Dose for PA and Lateral CXRs”, May 5th, 2015.
3. K Little, L Liu, T Kinsey, C Froman, I Reiser, K Haas, A Sánchez, ZF Lu, “United database for rejected acquisition analysis in radiography”, May 12th, 2016.
4. I Reiser, A Sánchez, K Little, ZF Lu, P Mosebach, A Oto, J Chung, “Managing CT dose levels at UCM: comparison with national benchmarks”, May 12th, 2016.
5. ZF Lu, K Little, I Reiser, V Kagan, A Sánchez, J Chung, H MacMahon, “Electromagnetic interference artifacts in digital radiography caused by left ventricular assist devices (LVAD)”, May 12th, 2016.
6. A Sanchez, I Reiser , T Baxter, Y Zhang, J Finkle, ZF Lu, K Feinstein, “Transitioning to Thickness-Based Protocols in Portable Pediatric Abdomen Radiography”, May 4th, 2017.
7. Y Zhang, K Little, A Sanchez, I Reiser, J Chung, H MacMahon, ZF Lu, “Hounsfield Units in Lung Nodules Vary with Reconstruction Parameters”, May 4th, 2017.
8. A Sanchez, I Reiser, T Baxter, ZF Lu, Y Zhang, E Marshall, J Finkle and K Feinstein, “Implementation and Clinical Impact of Thickness-Based Protocols in Portable Pediatric Abdomen Radiology”, 2018 UCMC Quality & Safety Symposium, May 2nd, 2018.
9. E Marshall, Y Zhang, A Jones, J Chung, M Malaniuk, M Mason, I Reiser and ZF Lu, “Institution Wide Comparisons of CT Diagnostic Reference Levels and Achievable Doses to National Benchmarked Values”, 2018 UCMC Quality & Safety Symposium, May 2nd, 2018. (Awarded the “Poster of Distinction”)
10. E Marshall, A Jones, J Finkle, K Feinstein, I Reiser and ZF Lu, “Optimizing Radiation Dose in Pediatric Chest-Abdomen-Pelvis (CAP) CT Studies”, 2019 UCMC Quality & Safety Symposium, May 1st, 2019
11. V Mamyan, I Reiser, E Marshall, TA Kinsey, M Arellano, J Spano-Rzepecki, T Baxter, and ZF Lu, “Reducing Patient Radiation Dose in Diagnostic Radiography Through More Effective Reject Analysis”, 2019 UCMC Quality & Safety Symposium, May 1st, 2019
12. K Blunt, E Marshall, J Cruz, ZF Lu, A Dachman, I Reiser, “Advancing Radiographic Detection Methods for Retained Suture Needles in Clinical Practice”, 2020 UCMC Quality & Safety Symposium, Oct. 19-23, 2020

Grant Funding

1. EL Marshall, ZF Lu, I Reiser, K Feinstein, R MacDougall, C Balta, E Pearson, H Al-Hallaq, C Joswiak, L Douglas, “Development of an anatomically realistic neonate phantom for the optimization of image quality during fluoroscopy studies”, Paul C. Hodges Alumni Society – 2018 Research Award ($3,000).
2. K Blunt (PI), I Reiser (Faculty Advisor), A Dachman (Faculty Advisor), ZF Lu, E Marshall, “Advancing radiographic detection methods for retained suture needles in clinical practice”, Paul C. Hodges Alumni Society – 2020 Research Award ($1,500). 

American Association of Physicists in Medicine
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc.