Meet Our Members and Alumni
Our Team
Zhu Lab is a collaborative group of researchers dedicated to advancing accurate dosimetry in therapeutic radiation therapy. Our team explores cutting-edge projects in radiation therapy, photodynamic therapy, and photobiomodulation. Meet the people behind our research!
Group Leader
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Read More about Dr. Timothy C. Zhu
Dr. Timothy C. Zhu
Professor
timothy.zhu@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Principal Investigator
Dr. Timothy Zhu is a board-certified medical physicist specializing in photodynamic therapy (PDT) physics, in-vivo dosimetry, and external beam treatment planning. As the Associate Director of PDT Physics, he leads the development of advanced dosimetry techniques for PDT, including real-time light fluence rate calculations and interstitial light delivery for complex tumors.
His research focuses on integrating diode-based in-vivo dosimetry, Cherenkov imaging, and EPID for real-time radiation dose monitoring. Additionally, he develops benchmark databases for external beam therapies, including photon, electron, and proton treatments, and works on computational treatment planning, image co-registration, and patient motion tracking.
Dr. Zhu’s expertise spans IGRT/IMRT, small-field dosimetry, MU calculations, total skin and total body irradiation, and quality assurance for radiation therapy systems. His work bridges research and clinical applications, driving innovation in precision cancer treatment.
Current Group Members
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Andreea Dimofte
Medical Physicist & Lab Manager
andreea.dimofte@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Andreea Dimofte Website
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Read More about Dennis SourvanosDennis Sourvanos
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Email Dennis Sourvanos
Dennis Sourvanos Website
Dennis Sourvanos
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
dsourvan@dental.upenn.edu
Dennis Sourvanos Website
-Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgical Periodontics, School of Dental Medicine | University of Pennsylvania
-Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine | University of Pennsylvania
-Vice President, Lasers & Biophotonics Scientific Group/Network (IADR, 2025-2027)
-Associate Editor, Dentistry Review (Elsevier) -
Read More about Weibing Yang
Weibing Yang
Medical Physics Resident
weibing.yang@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Weibing Yang Website
Dr. Weibing Yang is a medical physics resident at department of radiation oncology, University of Pennsylvania since July, 2024. He received his BS degree in applied physics and MS degree in control theory and control engineering at Northeastern University in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and his PhD in physic from Temple University in 2019. He obtained his certificate in medical physics at University of Pennsylvania. His current research interests include photodynamic therapy, photobiomodulation and radiation therapy.
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Hongjing (Corrine) Sun
Graduate Student
hongjing.sun@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Hongjing (Corrine) Sun Website
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Read More about Vikas Vikas
Vikas Vikas
Visiting Scholar
vikas.vikas@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Vikas Vikas Website
Vikas, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Glasgow, is currently engaged in a project sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. His research is primarily focused on the optimization of singlet oxygen dosimetry for photodynamic therapy and the development of innovative Time-Resolved Singlet Oxygen Luminescence Detection systems.
With a Ph.D. from the Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research, Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, Vikas possesses extensive expertise in optical engineering and photothermal therapeutics. His research on the optical properties of plasmonic photothermal therapeutics has earned him distinction, including the title of Gold Medallist in Optical Engineering.
Vikas' contributions to the field have been acknowledged through awards, publications in esteemed journals, and presentations at both national and international conferences. Proficient in programming languages such as C, Matlab, COMSOL, Zemax, Python and LabVIEW, Vikas also has practical experience with a variety of experimental equipment.
Driven by a profound enthusiasm for biophotonics and nanophotonics, Vikas is consistently seeking new opportunities to advance the fields of optical engineering and biophotonics. He welcomes potential collaborations and invites interested parties to connect with him to explore opportunities for impactful advancements.
Collaborators
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Read More about Robert Hadfield
Robert Hadfield
Professor, University of Glasgow
robert.hadfield@glasgow.ac.uk
Robert Hadfield Website
Robert Hadfield is Professor of Photonics in the Division of Electronic and Nanoscale Engineering in the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the University of Glasgow Centre for Quantum Technology and serves on the Executive Committee of the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre. He is based in the University of Glasgow Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (the ARC).
He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK in 2003. He was a postdoctoral guest researcher at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado from 2003 to 2006. He returned to the UK in 2007 as a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Heriot-Watt University and was promoted to Reader in Physics in 2009. He joined the University of Glasgow as Professor of Photonics in the School of Engineering 2013. He served as Head of the Research Division of Electronic and Nanoscale Engineering from August 2014 to July 2018.
He was awarded the 2012 J&E Hall Gold Medal of the Institute of Refrigeration, the 2013 Brian Pippard Prize of the Institute of Physics Superconductivity Group and the 2019 James Joule Medal of the Institute of Physics. He was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2010, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology in 2015, a Fellow of the Optical Society of Amercia (now Optica) in 2016 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2019. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and SPIE. He has served on the editoral boards of the Journals Superconductor Science and Technology (IoP), Optics Express(OPG) and Royal Society Open Science (Royal Society of London). He joined the editorial board of Optica (OPG) from April 2019. He is editor of a major title in the Springer Quantum Science and Technology Series, Superconducting Devices in Quantum Optics, published in spring 2016. He was Guest Professor at the Royal Insitute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden in August 2018 through the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology. He held a European Reserch Council Consolidator Grant from 2015-2019 and a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowshipin 2018-19. He was co-chair of the European Conference on Applied Superconductivity, EUCAS 2019, at the Scottish Event Campus, SEC, in Glasgow in September 2019 and the Single Photon Workshop, SPW2024, in Edinburgh in November 2024
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Sergei Vinogradov
Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Email Sergei Vinogradov
Sergei Vinogradov Website
Sergei Vinogradov
Professor, University of Pennsylvania
vinograd.upenn@gmail.com
Sergei Vinogradov Website
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Read More about Kostas DaniilidisKostas Daniilidis
Ruth Yalom Stone Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Email Kostas Daniilidis
Kostas Daniilidis Website
Kostas Daniilidis
Ruth Yalom Stone Professor, University of Pennsylvania
kostas@cis.upenn.edu
Kostas Daniilidis Website
Kostas’ research interests are in computer vision and robotic perception. His research addresses challenges in the perception of motion and space, such as the geometric design of cameras, and the interplay of geometry and appearance in perception tasks. Kostas’s research gives solutions to perceptual tasks such as panoramic vision, localization, perception of self-motion, large-scale mapping, visual location recognition, 3-D object recognition, and vision-based flocking. Applications of his research involve robot navigation, tele-immersion, and image and shape retrieval.
Alumni
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Read More about Brook Byrd
Brook Byrd
Medical Physics Resident, University of Pennsylvania
brook.byrd@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Brook Byrd Website
My family is from Williamsburg, Virginia, an 18th century colonial town located in southern Virginia. I completed my BS in Applied Physics with a minor in Ethical Leadership studies at Christopher Newport University in 2017. During my time at CNU, I played collegiate tennis, led multiple community service trips, and performed nuclear detector research at the nearby Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator facility, a national lab also located in Newport News, Virginia. With a strong passion for bridging science with service, I pursued a UK-US Fulbright Fellowship in Radiotherapy, and explored virtual radiotherapy training opportunities (VERT), 3D visualization solutions for CBCT/CT image matching, and methods for improving Radiotherapy education within the UK. This highly cross-cultural Fulbright exchange also provided me with a wider global perspective, humility, and empathy; which continues to shape my actions today. Penn’s shared interest in cross-cultural communications and global collaboration is another leading factor for why I choose to be a part of this program.
After moving back to the US, I pursued a PhD in engineering at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College with a certificate in Medical Physics and Surgical Innovation. My doctoral research at Dartmouth spanned multiple fields and I’ve been lucky to work with surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, oncologists, technicians, research scientists, and many mentors along the way. Over the 5 years of my PhD career, I was involved in over a dozen preclinical imaging collaborations and four major clinical studies. My research also supported a start-up breast cancer surgical guidance company, CairnSurgical Inc., in multiple clinical trials which aimed to make supine MRI an efficient and cost-effective imaging strategy for breast cancer surgical guidance.
Through these clinical experiences, I discovered a deep passion for patient care and a strong motivation to improve lives through clinical work. With interest in the intersections of clinical practice, scientific advancements, and commercial translation, I’m excited to remain involved in all three spheres during my time here as a 3-yr research resident. When I’m not in the clinic, I’m an avid swimmer, runner, and world-traveler.
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Madelyn Johnson
Medical Physics Resident, University of Pennsylvania
Email Madelyn Johnson
Madelyn Johnson Website
Madelyn Johnson
Medical Physics Resident, University of Pennsylvania
madelyn.johnson@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Madelyn Johnson Website
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Read More about Daniel AlexanderDaniel Alexander
Assistant Professor, Dartmouth College
Email Daniel Alexander
Daniel Alexander Website
Daniel Alexander
Assistant Professor, Dartmouth College
daniel.alexander1@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Daniel Alexander Website
I grew up in southern Rhode Island and moved to Troy, NY to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where I received a BS and MS, both in physics. While there, my research focused on experimental particle astrophysics, specifically detector technology for dark matter search experiments. I then moved back to New England to complete my PhD in medical physics at Dartmouth, where my dissertation focused on novel applications of Cherenkov emission imaging in radiation therapy as part of a collaboration between the Thayer School of Engineering and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. During the latter half of my PhD studies, I also had the opportunity to work as a research scientist with DoseOptics LLC, where I worked on the development and commercial deployment of the BeamSite clinical Cherenkov imaging system. My current research interests include optical imaging, in vivo surface dosimetry, and image guided radiation therapy. In my free time, I enjoy playing music, hiking and skiing the northeast, cooking, and playing with my polydactyl cat, Hallux.
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Michele Kim
Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
michele.kim@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Michele Kim Website
Ph.D. students
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Name |
Institute/Department |
Ph.D. Thesis |
Start – End years |
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Dennis Sourvanos DDS, DScD (Co-Mentor: Prof. Joseph Fiorellini) |
Upenn/Dental School |
Medical Dosimetry and Dose delivery for Photobiomodulation and Photodynamic Therapy |
2019 - 2023 |
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Tianshung Miao, Ph.D. (Co-Mentor: Prof. Brian Pogue) |
Dartmouth College/Biomed Eng |
Cherenkov Imaging in Linac Quality Assurance and Total Skin Electron Therapy Dose Studies |
2017 - 2020 |
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Michele Kim, Ph.D. |
Upenn/Physics |
2012 – 2017 |
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Julia Lauren Meo, Ph.D. |
Upenn/Physics |
PDT in the Thoracic Cavity: Spectroscopic Methods and Fluence Modeling for treatment planning |
2009 - 2013 |
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Andreea Dimofte, Ph.D. |
Babes-Bolyai University, Romania/Physics |
2002 - 2011 |
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Amarjit S. Saini, Ph.D. |
Univ Southern Florida/Biomed Eng |
In-vivo radiation diode dosimetry for therapeutic photon beams |
2002-2008 |
Postdoc
|
Name |
Institute/Department |
Current Position |
Start – End years |
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Weibing Yang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics Resident, Upenn |
1.2023-5.2024 |
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Brook Byrd, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics Resident, Upenn |
2023-2024 |
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Daniel Alexander, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Chief Medical Physics Resident, Upenn |
2022-2023 |
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Vivek Rastogi, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Postdoc, MIT |
2022 - 2023 |
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Weili Zhong, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Assistant Professor, Dept of Radiation Oncology, Northwestern Univ. |
2021 - 2022 |
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Tianqi Sheng, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
N/A |
2018 - 2019 |
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Yihong Ong, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Sr Algorithm Engineer, Masimo Corp |
2016 - 2021 |
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Rozhin Penjweini, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Scientist, NIH |
2014 - 2017 |
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Haixia Qiu, MD |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Attending Physician, 301 Hospital |
2014 - 2016 |
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Baochang Liu, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physicist, Niagara Health, Canada |
2012 - 2014 |
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Anna Sharikova, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
N/A |
2012 - 2014 |
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Xing Liang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Managing Medical Physicist, Radiation Physics Solutions, PA |
2010 - 2012 |
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Chang Chang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, UCSD |
2009 - 2012 |
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Ken Wang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, UTSW |
2008 - 2010 |
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David (Yida) Hu, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Instructor in Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital |
2008 - 2010 |
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Troy (Xiaodong) Zhou, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Chief Medical Physicist, JHU |
2007 - 2008 |
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Jun Li, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Clinical Associate Professor, TJU |
2005 - 2008 |
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Hsing-wen Wang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Research Assistant Professor, U Maryland |
2003 - 2005 |
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Jarod C. Finlay, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Associate Professor (diseased), Radiation Oncology, Upenn |
2003 - 2005 |
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Micheal Solonenko, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
CTO (retired), OneLight Sensing, LLC |
2001 - 2003 |
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Theodor Vulcan, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physicist, San Antonio, TX |
2000 - 2002 |
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Sunyoung Jang, Ph.D. |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, Penn State U |
1998 - 2000 |
Master's students
|
Name |
Institute/Department |
Major |
Start – End years |
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Madelyn Johnson, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
8.2023 - 6. 2025 |
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Mario Gallardo, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6. 2023 – 6.2024 |
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Shivani Gupta, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6. 2022 – 6.2023 |
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Olivia Certa,MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6.2022 - 6.2023 |
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Yifeng Zhu, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6.2022 - 6.2023 |
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Ryan Hall Morales, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6.2021 – 6.2022 |
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Yihua Zhu, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6. 2017 – 6.2019 |
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Roshan A. Karunamuni, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6. 2007 – 6. 2008 |
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Dimofte Andreea, MS |
Upenn/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6.2000 – 6.2001 |
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Amarjit S. Saini, MS |
UFL/RadOnc |
Medical Physics |
6.1995 – 6.1997 |
Undergraduate students
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Name |
Institute/Department |
Major |
Start – End years |
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Faith Cherop |
Michigan State University/Physics |
Supers/Physics |
6. 2023 – 8. 2023 |
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Rachel Ceccanecchio |
Boston University/Premed |
Intership/Medical Physics |
6. 2023 – 8.2023 |
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Sharma Dvij |
Davidson College/Physics |
Supers/Medical Physics |
6.2022 – 8.2022 |
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Mario Gallardo |
TCNJ/Physics |
Supers/Medical Physics |
6.2021 – 8.2021 |
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Shweta Majumder |
Brown U/Engineering Physics |
Supers/Medical Physics |
6.2019 – 8.2019 |
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Andrew Li |
Upenn/SEAS |
Medical Physics |
5.2018 - 8.2022 |
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Jonah Padawer |
Upenn/SEAS |
Physics |
5.2017-5.2019 |
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Amy Lu |
Upenn/Warton School |
Medical Physics |
5.2014-8.2016 |
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Joey Spano |
Upenn/Physics |
Supers/Medical Physics |
5.2014-8.2014 |
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Dayton D. McMillan |
Colorado State University/enviroment |
Supers/Medical Physics |
5.2013-8.2013 |
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P Kundu |
Upenn/Physics |
Supers/Medical Physics |
5.2011 – 8.2011 |