Bertha García Gutiérrez is working to complete a PhD in medical physics through support from an IAEA doctoral coordinated research project. (Photo: IAEA) In low- and middle-income countries there are often too few radiotherapy medical physicists available for cancer care services, and there are even fewer who are qualified to supervise training programmes of new medical physicists and advance research in this field. A series of IAEA doctoral coordinated research projects (CRPs) sets out to address this. Medical physicists play a key role in cancer treatment. These health professionals calculate exact radiation doses and devise, with doctors, treatment plans to use these doses to target cancer cells with minimal damage to healthy tissue. Their role in supporting quality healthcare is increasingly recognized by the health community, as is the need to ensure sustainable educational programmes for the training of competent medical physicists. While a PhD is not necessary for […]