Training in applied and translational engineering of tools and methods for cancer imaging and therapy are administered through the Thayer School of Engineering’s PhD program in Engineering Science. This program houses over 50 PhD students working in the field of engineering in medicine, and the majority of these working in translational engineering in cancer. The program leaders have primary appointments at Thayer as well as Geisel, and most cancer research programs exist in physical laboratory space within the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, accessing the considerable imaging and therapy technology resources present there.
Two unique training opportunities exist within this program:
Innovations in Surgical Sciences
The specialized training program on Innovations in Surgical Sciences is funded by the NIH NIBIB and presents a unique one-on-one mentoring opportunity for engineering PhD students to gain direct access to shadowing surgeons and brainstorming methods and devices that could improve surgical procedures. Trainees will work directly with experienced entrepreneurs to develop intellectual property and commercialization pathways providing unprecedented opportunities to translate ideas rapidly from bench to practice in the surgical setting. They will learn to accelerate the progression of ideas from the early phases of prototype development, to small-scale testing and validation, to large-scale comparative effectiveness evaluation, commercialization, and dissemination into practice. While trainees will be Thayer School students, significant interactions will occur with Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center's Departments of Surgery, Orthopaedics, Family Medicine, and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, as well as Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business through its Health Care Initiative and Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.
The program is administered by Prof Keith Paulsen.
Medical Physics
The specialized training program in Medical Physics is administered through a collaboration of faculty from Giesel and Thayer. This program is available to enrolled Dartmouth PhD students in engineering and the physical sciences, and was accredited in 2016 by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), and provides the curricular training required for successful completion of accredited Medical Physics Graduate Program, which is required for a career in clinical medical physics and enables graduates to apply for CAMPEP accredited residency programs. Interested students must apply for admission to the accredited program, and previously should discuss this option with their faculty advisor and one of the Program Directors.
This program is administered by Profs Brian Pogue, David Gladstone and John Weaver.