DR. STEPHEN W. TUTTLE RESEARCH AWARD
“Generating Deliverable Radiotherapy Plans with Diffusion Models” in SUPERS@PENN 24’
I’m excited to share that I won the Dr. Stephen W. Tuttle Research Award for my final presentation titled “Generating Deliverable Radiotherapy Plans with Diffusion Models” in SUPERS@PENN 24’ hosted by the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This award is given annually to the two best final presentations in this program, and I’m honored to be one of the recipients this year.
To accelerate the traditional radiotherapy treatment planning, my project focused on using a generative deep learning approach to generate deliverable Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) plans based on patient-specific medical images for the radiotherapy “robot” Varian TrueBeam, specifically designed to meet dosimetric objectives for breast cancer patients undergoing Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the team that addresses this challenging and meaningful problem in cancer treatment and exploring the intersections of robot learning, computer vision, and medical physics. I am deeply grateful for the support from experts across these fields. I want to sincerely thank my PI, Dr. Rafe McBeth, for his valuable guidance and support on my project; our collaborators, Dr. Eric Eaton, PhD and Dr. Dinesh Jayaraman from the GRASP lab, for many truly inspiring discussions through the lens of robotics; Dr. Daniel Alexander and Dr. Jace Grandinetti, PhD for teaching me the clinical knowledge about radiotherapy planning and delivering.
I also would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Jay Dorsey, Dr. Costas Koumenis, Dr. Crys S. Conn, Dr. Ioannis Verginadis, and Jessica Kushner for their efforts in organizing this wonderful program. Last but not the least, my thanks go to my roommates and peers in this program for their support in this impressive summer at Philly.
Building on this experience, I am excited to embark on the next chapters of my research journey! Learn more about the award here.
