Career Opportunities in Medical Physics

Medical physics is a dynamic field with many career opportunities both within and outside of academia. Broadly, medical physics is the scientific discipline focused on all possible uses of physics and physical sciences in medicine. Research in medical physics covers a wide range of topics including:

• Medical imaging such as CT, MRI, and PET

• Medical therapies such as treatments with radiation or hyperthermia

• Medical technologies such as medical accelerators, AI, and decision systems

• Disease states, such as cancer, neuro-degenerative, or musculoskeletal

• Normal physiology such as the vascular and immune systems

Medical physics research can be done in academic labs or as part of industry product development. Medical physicists can also work in clinical hospital settings, in either diagnostic imaging (Radiology), Nuclear Medicine, therapy (Radiation Oncology), or health physics (Radiation Safety).

There are many career options within medical physics, with opportunities at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. This panel will introduce physicists who have followed career paths in different sectors of medical physics, including academia, government, industry, and clinical. They will each summarize their career trajectory and then take questions from the audience. In addition to the panel, members of GMED (the Topical Group on Medical Physics) will also be available for networking and answering questions about how to start in medical physics or get involved with GMED. Please join us for an interactive career-focused session!