Joseph M. DeCunha, PhD

Curriculum Vitae, July 2026

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.), Medical Physics
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, United States of America

Master of Science (MSc.), Medical Physics
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Bachelor of Science (BSc.), Physics
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Postgraduate Training

Radiation Therapy Physics Residency (CAMPEP)
The University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, United States of America

Certifications and Licenses

American Board of Radiology, Therapeutic Medical Physics
Board eligible upon completion of residency July 2027. Part 1 qualifying exam passed.

Federal Aviation Administration, Private Pilot Certificate
Granted June 2025

Professional Organizations

Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP)
Member, 2016 – 2020

American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
Member, 2020 – Present

Radiation Research Society (RRS)
Member, 2023 – Present

American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
Member, 2026 – Present

Funding

Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research Fellowship
112k USD fellowship + benefits
Awarded by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas in January 2022.

Postgraduate Scholarship, Doctoral (PGS-D)
75k CAD scholarship
Awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada in May 2022.

PhD Scholarship (Declined)
63k CAD scholarship
Awarded by Quebec Health Research Fund (FRQS) in May 2020.

Masters Scholarship
42k CAD scholarship
Awarded by Quebec Health Research Fund (FRQS) in May 2018.

Studentship Award
19k CAD scholarship
Awarded by the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center January 2019.

Graduate Excellence Fellowship
2.5k CAD scholarship
Awarded by McGill University in September 2018.

Honors and Awards

Scholar-in-Training (SIT) Excellence Award
Awarded by the Radiation Research Society (RRS) on June 11, 2026.
Selected based on top-scoring abstract for an oral presentation at the RRS 2026 annual meeting.

Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2023
Awarded by Physics in Medicine and Biology on February 28, 2024.

Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2022
Awarded by Physics in Medicine and Biology on March 9, 2023.

Oral Presentation Travel Award
Awarded by the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists in August 2018.
Travel grant for graduate students with the highest-scoring abstracts presented at the COMP annual meeting in 2018.

Research Activities

Research Student (April 2016 – August 2020)
McGill University Health Center (Cedars Cancer Center)
Montreal, Québec, Canada

  • Helped explain the limited effectiveness of intravascular brachytherapy for treatment of coronary artery disease using Monte Carlo particle physics simulations.
  • Developed a toolkit to determine patient-specific microdosimetric distributions using information derived from pathology slides of patient’s tissues.
  • Supervised by Prof. Shirin Enger.

Visiting Researcher (May 2017 – July 2017)
Danish Technical University, Risø: Center for Nuclear Technology
Risø, Denmark

  • Investigated and constructed a new interferometry-based dosimeter for reference dosimetry.
  • Supervised by Prof. Lars Lindvold.

Visiting Researcher (July 2018 – August 2018)
Uppsala University Hospital
Uppsala, Sweden

  • Began work on an algorithm and software package for patient specific microdosimetry.
  • Supervised by Prof. Shirin Enger and Dr. Fernanda Villegas.

Graduate Researcher (August 2020 – May 2025)
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Physics
Houston, Texas, United States of America

  • I developed models to determine the biological effectiveness of proton therapy under the supervision of Dr. Radhe Mohan.
  • Developed SuperTrack, a GPU-accelerated software for the rapid calculation of microdosimetric spectra; which was later incorporated into RayStation-IonPG 2023B.

Medical Physics Resident (July 2025 – Present)
University of Washington Medical Center, Department of Radiation Oncology
Seattle, Washington, United States of America

  • 1st year medical physics resident in the CAMPEP accredited residency program at the University of Washington.
  • In addition to clinical training I am involved in FLASH radiobiology related research with Dr. Clemens Grassberger and investigating treatment outcomes following intravascular brachytherapy with Dr. Kent Wallner.

Clinical Activities

Machine calibration and quality assurance

  • Performed monthly and annual quality assurance measurements in accordance with AAPM TG-142 and medical physics practice guidelines on an Elekta Infinity, Varian Ethos, Varian TrueBeam, and General Electric LightSpeed CT scanner.
  • Regularly recalibrate diodes used for in-vivo monitoring of megavoltage photon and electron therapy. Surface guidance
  • Regularly provide technical troubleshooting assistance and isocenter/radiation isocenter calibrations for Varian IDENTIFY surface-guidance camera system. Intravascular brachytherapy
  • Experience performing seed assays, surveys, daily QA, and covering intravascular brachytherapy procedures provided in the cath-lab with a Novoste Beta Cath 3.5F device.

Patient-specific quality assurance

  • Perform patient-specific quality assurance using a Sun Nuclear ArcCheck, Mobius FX, and Sun Nuclear Fraction0 log-file based analysis for 300+ IMRT/VMAT/SRS/SBRT plans annually.

Treatment planning

  • Plan on the order of 50 total body irradiation (TBI) treatments per year for myeloablative as well as non-myeloablative stem cell transplant conditioning.
  • Plan on the order of 10 3D conformal radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy cases annually using the RayStation treatment planning system.

Device commissioning

  • Commissioned, calibrated, and baselined a Sun Nuclear Daily QA3 and ICProfiler for daily and monthly quality assurance measurements, respectively on an Elekta C-arm linear accelerator.

Education and Training Activities

Teaching
Assistant Instructor (Summer term, 2022 – 2024)
Special topics in biomedical sciences: innovation in cancer prevention research
University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston

Advising / Mentorship
Wisang Sugiarta (February 2019 – February 2020)
Undergraduate thesis project: Microdosimetric Analysis of the Relative Biological Effectiveness of Alpha and Beta Radiation Using 3D Tissue Specific Tumour Models

  • I supervised Mr. Sugiarta’s thesis project in collaboration with Dr. Shirin Enger while I was a masters student.

Kiarash Ghasemi (April 2019 – October 2019)
Undergraduate research project: Development of new devices for intravascular brachytherapy.

  • I supervised Mr. Ghasemi’s research project in collaboration with Dr. Shirin Enger while I was a masters student.

Other
Geant4 Collaboration Forums, Member

  • I am an active member of the Geant4 community and regularly address questions from new users (account).

Peer Review Service

I have provided 30 peer reviews for 6 journals. For a full listing of peer review service see my ORCID record: 0000-0003-2098-4222.

Summary:

  • Physics in Medicine and Biology (20 reviews)
  • Biomedical Physics and Engineering Express (4 reviews)
  • Medical Physics (2 reviews)
  • Radiation and Environmental Biophysics (2 reviews)
  • Advances in Radiation Oncology (1 review)
  • Radiotherapy and Oncology (1 review)

Publications

a.1) Decunha J.M, Janicki C, Enger S.A. A retrospective analysis of catheter-based sources in intravascular brachytherapy (2017). Brachytherapy. Vol 16. Issue 3.

a.2) Decunha J.M, Enger S.A. A new delivery system to resolve dosimetric issues in intravascular brachytherapy (2018). Brachytherapy. Vol 17. Issue 3.

a.3) Decunha J.M, Poole C.M, Vallières M, Torres J, Camilleri-Broët S, Rayes R.F, Spicer J.D, Enger S.A. Development of Patient Specific 3D Models from Histopathological Samples for Microdosimetric Investigations in Radiation Therapy (2021). Physica Medica. Vol. 81.

a.4) Decunha J.M, Villegas F, Vallières M, Camilleri-Broët S, Enger S.A. Patient Specific Microdosimetry: A Proof of Concept (2021). Phys. Med. Biol. Vol 66. Issue 18.

a.5) DeCunha J.M, Newpower M, Mohan R. GPU-accelerated calculation of proton microdosimetric spectra as a function of target size, proton energy, and bounding volume size (2023). Phys. Med. Biol. Vol. 68.

a.6) Rahbaran M, Kalinowski J, DeCunha J.M, et al. RapidBrachyIVBT: A dosimetry software for patient-specific intravascular brachytherapy dose calculations on optical coherence tomography images (2024). Med. Phys. Vol 52. Issue 2.

a.7) DeCunha J.M, Missiaggia M, Newpower M, Traneus E, La Tessa C, Mohan R. A Library of Proton Lineal Energy Spectra Spanning the Full Range of Clinically Relevant Energies (2025). Med. Phys. Vol 52. Issue 5.

a.8) Dumancic M, Kalinowski J, Diaz V … DeCunha J.M, Enger S.A. Microdosimetry calculations in situ for clinically relevant photon sources and their correlation with the early DNA damage response (2025). Med. Phys. Vol 52. Issue 7.

a.9) DeCunha J.M, Peeler C, Mirkovic D, Titt U, Yepes P, Newpower M, Grosshans D, Mohan R. Pseudoreplication can lead to apparent association of increasing proton-LET with radiation associated image changes where no such relationship exists (2026). Adv. Rad. Oncol. In press.

a.10) Wallner K, Kearney K.E, DeCunha J.M, Kim E.Y, Azzalini L, Sandison G, Lombardi W.L, Kumar S, Sengupta B, Don C, Kim M. Intravascular radiation delays recurrence of recalcitrant coronary in-stent restenonsis (2026). Adv. Rad. Oncol. In press.

Under Review

a.11) DeCunha J.M, Newpower M, Bronk L, Guan F, Mohan R. Development of icrodosimetric spectrum-based proton-RBE models developed using available clonogenic survival data. Under review with: Precision Radiation Oncology.

Other publications

b.1) DeCunha J.M, Newpower M, Mohan R. Open Science Foundation Data Repository: A library of lineal energy spectra of protons 0.1 - 100 MeV in energy, as a function of target size, and bounding volume size (2023). OSF. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/XNVZG

b.2) DeCunha J.M, Missiaggia M, Newpower M, Traneus E, La Tessa C, Mohan R. Open Science Foundation Data Repository: Lineal Energy Spectra of Protons Spanning the Full Range of Clinically Relevant Energies (2024). OSF. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/TNGVY

Published books, videos, software etc.

c.1) DeCunha J.M. MicroTrackGenerator. August 4 2022.
Accessible at: https://github.com/JDecunha/MicroTrackGenerator

c.2) DeCunha J.M. SuperTrack. August 18 2022.
Accessible at: https://github.com/JDecunha/SuperTrack

c.3) DeCunha J.M. Several extensions to the Geant4 Monte Carlo radiation transport engine. Various dates.
Accessible at: https://github.com/JDecunha/G4VectorAccumulable,
https://github.com/JDecunha/SphericalParameterisation,
https://github.com/JDecunha/G4PhaseSpaceReader

Talks and Presentations

Invited talks and presentations

d.1) DeCunha J.M. Rapid calculation of microdosimetric spectra for use in research and clinical contexts (Invited Oral). MedAustron 2nd Annual Microdosimetry Workshop. November 4 2024. Vienna, Austria.

Conference presentations at national and international scope

d.2) DeCunha J.M, Enger S.A. Investigation of a new device to improve dosimetric outcomes in intravascular brachytherapy (Poster). Annual meeting of the American Brachytherapy Society, April 20, 2017, Boston, United States of America.

d.3) DeCunha J.M. The McGill Medical Physics Unit (Oral). Aarhus University Hospital, Brachytherapy Workshop. June 7, 2017, Aarhus, Denmark.

d.4) DeCunha J.M, Enger S.A. Resolving dosimetric issues in intravascular brachytherapy (Oral). Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists Annual Scientific Meeting. July 15, 2017, Ottawa, Canada.

d.5) DeCunha J.M, Enger S.A. Towards Patient Specific Microdosimetry (Oral). International Conference on Monte Carlo Techniques for Medical Applications. June 21, 2019. Montreal, Canada.

d.6) Rahbaran M, Kalinowski J, Tsu J.M.G, DeCunha J.M, Enger S.A. Quantification of Uncertainties in Clinical Water-Based Intravascular Brachytherapy Dosimetry with Monte Carlo (Oral). International Conference on Monte Carlo Techniques for Medical Applications, April 11, 2022. Antwerp, Belgium.

d.7) DeCunha J.M, Mohan R.M. GPU-Accelerated Microdosimetry. (Poster) 2022 Annual Meeting, American Association of Physicists in Medicine. July 13 2022. Washington D.C, United States.

d.8) DeCunha J.M, Vassiliev O, Newpower M, Titt U, Mohan R. Improving accuracy of proton-RBE predictions distal to the Bragg Peak with non-linear models based on lineal energy spectra and dose-averaged LET (Poster). International Congress of Radiation Research 2023. August, 27, 2023. Montreal, Canada.

d.9) Rahbaran M, Kalinowski J, Man Git Tsui J, DeCunha J.M, Croce K, Bergmark B, Devlin P, Enger S.A. Development of a Novel Dosimetry Software for Patient-Specific Intravascular Brachytherapy Treatment Planning on Optical Coherence Tomography Images (Oral). American Brachytherapy Society 2023 Annual Meeting. June 22 2023. Vancouver, Canada.

d.10) Rahbaran M, Kalinowski J, Man Git Tsui J,DeCunha J.M, Croce K, Bergmark B, Devlin P, Enger S.A. Development of a Novel Dosimetry Software for Patient-Specific Intravascular Brachytherapy Treatment Planning on Optical Coherence Tomography Images (Oral). Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology and Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists Joint Scientific Meeting 2023. September 21 2023. Montreal, Canada.

d.11) DeCunha J.M, Newpower M, Vassiliev O, Titt U, Mohan R. Development and comparison of lineal energy spectrum-based and LETd-based proton-RBE models (Oral). Particle Therapy Cooperative Working Group – North America 8th Annual Meeting. October 27 2023. Seattle, Washington, United States of America.

d.12) DeCunha J.M, Newpower M, Titt U, Mohan R. Making Voxel Level Computation of Proton Lineal Energy Spectra Feasible in Research and Clinical Contexts (Oral). National Physical Laboratory, Proton Physics Research Implementation Group 2023. November 9 2023. London, United Kingdom.

d.13) Dumancic M, Kalinowski J, Martinez V.D, Li J, DeCunha J.M, Behmand B, Enger S.A. Microdosimetry studies for cancer cell irradiations with brachytherapy and external beam photon sources (Poster). Radiation Research Society 2024 Annual Meeting. September 18 2024. Tucson, Arizona, United States.

d.14) DeCunha J.M, Missiaggia M, Newpower M, Traneus E, La Tessa C, Mohan R. A Method for Rapid Voxel-by-Voxel Calculation of Proton Lineal Energy Spectra: Experimental Validation and Incorporation into RayStation 2023B-IonPG (Poster). Radiation Research Society 2024 Annual Meeting. September 18 2024. Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.

d.15) Newpower M, DeCunha J.M, Algan O, Traneus E, Ahmad S, Mohan R. Development of machine learning models utilizing proton energy spectrum and dose to for post-treatment T2 hyperintensity prediction (Oral). Particle Therapy Cooperative Working Group – North America, 9th Annual Meeting. November 15 2024. New York, United States of America.

d.16) Yepes P, Grosshans D, DeCunha J.M, Cristancho D, Titt U, Mohan R. Correlation between LET and toxicity in proton therapy: a voxel-based energy spectrum analysis in ependymoma patients (Oral). Particle Therapy Cooperative Working Group Annual Meeting. June 5 2025. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

d.17) Newpower M, DeCunha J.M, Mohan R, Traneus E, Algan O, Jaboin J. Predicting suspected radiation necrosis in brain cancer patients with a machine learning model based on the proton lineal energy spectrum (Oral). Particle Therapy Cooperative Working Group Annual Meeting. June 5 2025. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

d.18) DeCunha J.M, Shaver B.A, Johnson Erickson D.P, Weber E, Morimoto A, Steins T, Schwarz M, Vitanza N, Mian O, Rengan R, Zeng J, Grassberger C. Ultra-High Dose Rates Mitigate Depletion of Circulating CD4+ and CD8+ Lymphocytes Beyond Physical Delivery Effects (Oral). Particle Therapy Cooperative Working Group 64th Annual Meeting. June 10 2026. Deauville, France.

d.19) DeCunha J.M, Peeler C, Mirkovic D, Titt U, Yepes P, Newpower M, Grosshans D, Mohan R. Common Analysis Approaches Can Indicate Apparent Association of Increasing Proton-LET With Radiation Associated Image Changes Where No Such Relationship Exists (Poster). American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), 2026 Annual Meeting. To be presented: September 28 2026. Boston, United States of America.

d.20) DeCunha J.M, Shaver B, Erickson D, Weber E, Morimoto A, Steins T, Schwarz M, Vitanza N, Mian O, Rengan R, Zeng J, Grassberger C. Ultra-High Dose Rate Irradiation Spares Peripheral Lymphocytes in Excess of Dose-Sparing Effect to Circulating Blood (Poster). American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), 2026 Annual Meeting. To be presented: September 28 2026. Boston, United States of America.

d.21) Wallner K, Kearney K, DeCunha J.M, Kim E, Azzalini L, Folkert M, Sandison G, Lombardi W, Kumar S, Sengupta B, Don C, Kim M. Intravascular Radiation Delays Recurrence of Recalcitrant Coronary In-Stent Restenosis (Poster). American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), 2026 Annual Meeting. To be presented: September 28 2026. Boston, United States of America.

d.22) DeCunha J.M, Peeler C, Mirkovic D, Titt U, Yepes P, Newpower M, Grosshans D, Mohan R. Spurious association between radiation associated image changes in the brain and proton-LET can emerge when failing to account for highly correlated voxel data (Oral). Radiation Research Society (RRS) 2026 Annual Meeting. To be presented: October 4 2026. Waikoloa Village, United States of America.