Message from Our Chair

Dear Colleagues, 

I hope you are all well this busy season as spring approaches. We were recently inspired by the research and academic rigor on display at the data science–themed Residents Research Day. The Feng Symposium on Prostate Cancer Revolutions also took place last month in San Francisco - Dr. Feng transformed Prostate Cancer research, encouraged collaboration and team science. His legacy still inspires us.

Over the past several months, we had the pleasure of engaging in thoughtful dialogue at various academic conferences (see social media below), our full-day faculty retreat, welcoming new faculty and residents at our annual picnic, and reconnecting with faculty and alumni at our reception at our future Proton Therapy site at the Power Station during ASTRO in San Francisco. We have growing engagement through our online channels - be sure to check our LinkedIn, X or Bluesy accounts for regular news of the great work that you all do!

I am also pleased to share the final version of our Research Strategic Plan, along with a concise Executive Summary. Together, these documents provide a guiding framework for our collective research efforts and aspirations in the years ahead.

Thank you for your continued commitment and contributions to our community.

Warmest regards,

Cathy

SurvivorNet: Steve Braunstein Guide to Glioma Care

Patients facing a glioma diagnosis often encounter complex choices about their next steps in treatment. SurvivorNet features Steve Braunstein, MD, vice chair of Education and professor, in a set of videos to outline the key considerations for treating the disease. Braunstein treats both adult and pediatric patients, with a clinical focus on brain tumors, spinal tumors, sarcomas, lymphoma and pediatric cancers. Watch the Videos here!

Effective March 1, 2026 - "Dr. David Raleigh's career is defined by the integration of cutting-edge translational science with leadership in national clinical trials to improve outcomes for patients with brain tumors." Read Press Release

Raleigh was also featured in a recent article by the Brain Tumor Center "Meningiomas are associated with some birth control"

John Liu, MD, PhD, assistant professor with his lab and Sontag Foundation program officers.

John Liu Receives Sontag Distinguished Scientist Award


Liu and his research group recently showed that they can combine the high-throughput capacity of CRISPR screens with the precision of single cell RNA sequencing in models of glioblastoma to assess how each individual genetic perturbation affects responses to treatments such as radiation therapy.

Read Announcement

Harish Vasudevan et al reveal transcriptional, functional genetic & cellular mechanisms of IFN signaling that underlie radiotherapy response in people with MPNS in ‪Journal of Clinical Investigation‬, March 2026.

Mekhail Anwar et al recently published in Biomedical Optics Express in February 2026 on Versatile optical frontends for multicolor fluorescence imaging with miniaturized lensless sensors. "we optimize our millimeter-scale planar optical front end and explore the design space across numerical aperture (NA), resolution, and signal in both visible and near-infrared (NIR) chip-scale fluorescence imaging," stated Anwar.

Robust analysis of the tumor spectrum in a preclinical model of breast cancer reveals stable subtypes with distinct growth patterns with co-authors Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff et al in Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, February 2026.

Lead Author Julian Hong along with Steve Braunstein, Lauren Boreta, William C. Chen et al publish in Cancer on Association of mental health disorders and all-cause mortality for patients with cancer: Large-scale analysis of University of California Health System Data, February 2026. Coverage in News: HealthDay and Dermatology Advisor

Xiaoyu Liu publishes in Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics on Survey of work-from-home experiences among medical physicists in Southern California during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, February 2026.

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine published Rational Radionuclide Therapy for Recurrent Meningioma by William C. Chen and David R. Raleigh, January 2026.

Eed controls craniofacial osteoblast differentiation and mesenchymal proliferation from the neural crest by Harish Vasudevan, David Raleigh et al December 2025.

Brook Braman, David Raleigh et al publish A case of radiation treatment effect mimicking viable, recurrent meningioma on DOTATATE PET imaging in Neuro-Onoclogy Advances, November 2025.

Loren Boreta and David Raleigh publish in JAMA Oncology Proton Craniospinal Irradiation for Leptomeningeal Metastases, September 2025.


Alexander Qian, Julian Hong et al publish Large Language Models in Population Oncology: A Contemporary Review on the Use of Large Language Models to Support Data Collection, Aggregation, and Analysis in Cancer Care and Research in JCO Clinical Informatics, Oct. 2025.

Our department is involved with some of the most important and innovative clinical trials in radiation oncology. We currently have 32 trials open to accrual, which include trials for patients with cancers of the head and neck, liver, prostate, kidney, breast, and brain.

Mary Feng, MD, Vice Chair for Clinical Research

Current Trial Highlights

CC#24721: An International, Prospective, Open-label, Multi-center, Randomized

Phase III Study comparing lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan (AAA617) versus

Observation to delay castration or disease recurrence in adult male patients with

prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive Oligometastatic Prostate

Cancer (OMPC) (PSMA-DC) PI: Steven Seyedin

CC#22721: Addressing taste dysfunction with miraculin in head and neck cancer

patients receiving radiation therapy: A double-blinded, placebo-controlled,

randomized phase III trial PI: Sue Yom

Trey Office joined our Parnassus RTT team in Jan. 2026 as a Sr. RTT. He's a transfer RTT from Hyde (St. Francis) Hospital with 12 years of experience.

Miriam Gray, Educational Programs Manager

Dr. Steve Braunstein, MD, PhD, Residency Program Director

Dr. Katelyn Hasse, PhD, Director of Medical Physics Residency Program

Medical and Physics residents and faculty convened at the end of January 2026 for Residents Research Day – a full day of insightful presentations, engaging round table discussions, a guest faculty lecture and Bakar Computational Health Sciences (BCHSI) affiliated faculty speakers sharing their data science research. Catherine Park, MD, chair of the department and Steve Braunstein, MD, PhD, vice chair of Education, welcomed attendees, acknowledged the planning committee for their significant work behind the event and provided an overview of the agenda.


Read Article and See Photos here!

“This is a wonderful event to highlight the pillar of education and champion research by our trainees...”

Steve Braunstein, MD, Vice Chair, Education

• Congratulations to Alexander (Alex) Qian (PGY4) medical resident who will be honored as a recipient of the PRIDE Experience Award by UCSF Health. "Qian was nominated for his leadership, compassion, and commitment to fostering a supportive, inclusive environment for both colleagues and patients. He consistently goes above and beyond—welcoming new trainees, strengthening team morale through meaningful social connections, and creating innovative resources that help residents thrive and focus on patient care." Read more
• Match Day is March 20th!
• Residency Programs Graduation is May 21st

Wensha Yang, PhD, uses a drone during the Annual Welcome picnic to capture the post-rain scene at Golden Gate park.

• The AAPM Task Group proposal for Synthetic CT for MR-only sim workflow was approved by AAPM. Jess Scholey will be the chair of the committee.
• Launched EQD2 workflow in MIM to standardize workflow and streamline reports for Special Physics Consults
• Recruited 2 Dosimetrists — Min Yang (starting March 16th) and Ottmar Lezama (starting April 6th)
• Tomo linac removed Jan 17th
• GammaTile brain implant program - 8 patients treated so far
• Hui Lin - R21 on GBM Progression and volume prediction received 3% from NCI (see Details below in Accolades!)
• An Inaugural joint UCSF/Stanford symposium will take place August 15, 2026 (Farallon Room, San Bruno). Stay tuned for details! Point people: Jess Scholey and Qihui Lyu
• Additional research events: Monthly trainee presentations (next one is 3/18), monthly in-person research meetings at MZ (next one is 3/18) with Ke Sheng presenting - See details in the "Events" section below!
• MR Sim updates - See Operations section below
• Check out the Physics Division webpage for other updates