My first passion is the education and training of medical physicists and radiation oncologists, country borders do not limit my efforts. I have helped co-author an IAEA report on the roles and responsibilities and training requirements of medical physicists, see publication list. I was a major force in many places to establish their own residency programs in Radiation Oncology and in Medical Physics. Over 18 years, I have trained radiation oncology residents who are now working literally worldwide; Bahrain, Canada , Gaza Strip, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UK and US. It is very fulfilling to teach the younger generation and more so still to be in touch with them to see how they grow. On this regards, I have many volunteer activities for training and education of physicists and radiation oncologists globally.
My second passion is helping with the implementation of new techniques and the QA management of radiation oncology departments. The one goes with the other. Over 18 years and counting, I have teamed with many groups of radiation oncologists to help t hem develop new treatment techniques even with limited resources. Knowing how to best use the technology in a safe manner and develop the services offered while under a strict budget is an art. See publication list.
My research before joining UPMC, prior to 3/2020, has been geared towards brachytherapy applications and innovations including commissioning of a simultaneous SBRT/HDR brachy treatment, plaque therapy, QA management through FMEA, CBCT role in adaptive HDR treatment, GEANT4 Monte Carlo for Ir-194, 3D printing and use of fiber optics for localization. See list. As of 2020, the number of conference abstracts is 60+.
Representative book, reports and peer-reviewed publications for education:
“Roles and Responsibilities, and Education and Training Requirements for Clinically Qualified Medical Physicists”,
IAEA Human Health Series report No 25,
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 2013. ISBN 978–92–0–142010–7.
Report is available free of charge from IAEA website http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/Pub1610_web.pdf
Book: Specialty Portfolio in Radiation Oncology: A global certification roadmap for trainers and trainees.
Qatar University Press, Qatar, Doha, 2021
ISBN 978-992-713-933-8 (print), ISBN 978-992-713-932-1 (electronic)
Book is available for free download from https://qspace.qu.edu.qa/handle/10576/17692
Board-certified specialty training program in radiation oncology in a war-torn country: Challenges, solutions and outcomes.
Clinical and Translation Radiation Oncology, 19 (2019): 46-51
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctro.2019.08.002
Successful Development of a Competency-Based Residency Training Program in Radiation Oncology: Our 15-Year Experience from Within a Developing Country.
J Cancer Education, 35:1011-1016, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01557-8
Representative Publications for technique implementation, quality development and brachytherapy:
Enhancing Value of Quality Assurance Rounds in Improving Radiotherapy Management: A Retrospective Analysis from King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan.
Radiation Oncology Journal (2019) 37(1) 60-65.
http://doi.org/10.3857/roj.2019.00080
Physics elements of an algorithm for brachytherapy dose calculation in homogenous media for Ir192 source.
Radiation Physics and Chemistry (2018) 149 90-10.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2018.04.004
Early Clinical Outcome of the First Lung SBRT Program in Jordan: Importance of International Collaboration.
Journal of Global Oncology 2018 4:Supplement 2, 92s-92s
http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jgo.18.35300
Peer-assisted Learning: Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy Transition in Developing Countries.
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(10):689-695, 2017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clon.2017.06.002
Commissioning of Applicator-guided SBRT boost with HDR brachytherapy for Advanced Cervical Cancer using Radiochromic Film dosimetry.
Brachytherapy, 16(4):893-902, 2017.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2017.03.009
Failure modes and effects analysis in image guided high dose rate brachytherapy: Quality control optimization to reduce errors in treatment volume.
Brachytherapy, 15(5): 669-678, 2016.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2016.06.009
Requirements and Implementation of lung SBRT program in developing countries: Benefits of International Cooperation.
International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology and Physics, 95(4): 1236–1238. 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.03.009
Enhancement and validation of GEANT4 brachytherapy application in clinical HDR 192Ir source.
Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 103: 57-66, 2014.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2014.05.040
Practical steps for establishing ocular plaque therapy in developing countries. .
Brachytherapy, 11(3): 230-236, 2012
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brachy.2011.12.002
The value of kV-CBCT in adaptive HDR brachytherapy of cervical cancer patients. Proceeings of the 36th annual conference of ESTRO, Milan, Italy April 26-30, 2019.
Camelia Constantinescu, Shada Wadi-Ramahi, Noha jastanyeh
Characterizations of a fiber optic dosimetry system for source tracking during HDR Brachytherapy. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1154/1/012027/pdf
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Volume 1154, conference 1.
M Al Towairqi, D L Cutajar, T Braddock, E Li, S Wadi-Ramahi, B Moftah, and A B Rosenfeld.
Measurement of Co-60 high dose rate brachytherapy (HDRB) source strength using the German in-phantom method
Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Radiation Medicine, Feb 21st – 25th 2016, Riyadh KSA Hawbir Omer, Shada Wadi-Ramahi, Araz Wahbi