MDACC UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Science (Houston, TX) Aug 2019 – Pres

Graduate Research Assistant – Advised by Dr. Rebecca Howell

Dissertation: Colorectal Subsequent Malignant Cancers in Childhood Cancer Survivors

- Created an age-scalable population-based colorectal model for our lab’s computational pediatric phantom

- Used RayStation Treatment Planning System for the following:

- Manually contoured normal tissues and labeled anatomical landmarks in 150+ whole-body CT scans

- Manually created RT plans for several treatment set-ups (e.g., Wilms’, whole pelvis, inverted-Y)

- Created Python code to automatically create RT plans and extract DVH and contour data

- Developed Python code to streamline pre-processing, analysis and plotting of big data

MDACC UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Science (Houston, TX) Aug 2016 – Aug 2019

Graduate Research Assistant – Advised by Dr. Jinzhong Yang

Dissertation: Integrating Automation in Radiation Oncology for Lung Cancer Treatment Planning

- Used R programming language for plotting and analyzing radiomics data

- Used Python for machine learning applications (i.e., convolutional neural network architecture) to develop a tool for auto-segmentation of lung tumors in CT scans

- Developed a graphical user interface in MATLAB® to facilitate generation of automatic lung tumor contours

Alabama A&M University (Huntsville, AL) May 2013 – Aug 2013

Physics REU Student (Research Assistant)

- Fabricated and characterized triboluminescent compounds (i.e., europium tetrakis compounds)

- Acquired and analyzed data with photodiodes, spectrometers, amplifiers, and oscilloscopes

- Analyzed data with custom LabVIEW virtual instrument (VI) program

University of South Florida (Tampa, FL) May 2012 – Aug 2012

Physics REU Student (Research Assistant)

- Fabricated and characterized thin films specifically for solar cells

- Acquired and analyzed data from scanning electron microscopes, spectrometers, four-point probes, and surface profilometers

MDACC Clinical Radiation Therapy Rotation (Houston, TX) Jan 2019 - May 2019

Graduate Research Assistant

- 50 hours observing radiation therapy physics routines including CT sim, treatment planning, treatment delivery for breast, GU, GI, lung and head-and-neck, SBRT, intracranial SRS, TBI, TSI, and brachytherapy

- Acquisition and measurement of radiation dosimeters (ion chamber, TLD, OSLD) following Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) and Accredited Dosimetry Calibration Lab (ADCL) guidelines

MDACC Clinical Diagnostic Imaging Rotation (Houston, TX) May 2018 - Aug 2018

Graduate Research Assistant

- 200 hours of clinical observations and routine diagnostic exams for x-ray, fluoroscopy, angiography, mammography, SPECT, PET, CT, MRI and ultrasound

- Observed and supervised practice of machine QA for standard imaging devices (radiographic, CT, MRI, SPECT, PET, and ultrasound) according to practice guidelines and AAPM Task Group reports

- Lab work for understanding of physics protocols and imaging technologies

Century Cancer Center (Houston, TX) Dec 2013 - Jul 2015

PRN Medical Physics Intern

- Volunteered 15+ hours weekly to shadow medical physicist (Paid when assisting radiation therapists)

- Under supervision of medical physicist:

- Performed QA checks (daily, monthly, TG-51, annual) for Varian ix linear accelerator

- Poured electron blocks, measured output factors, and input plans into Eclipse TPS

- Performed daily and monthly QA checks on HDR Varisource ix Ir-192 unit

- Received HDR sources, perform wipe tests and area surveys

- Assisted with HDR brachytherapy planning and treatment

- 5 gynecological (CAPRI), and 10+ breast (Mammosite, Contura, SAVI)

- Performed 3 external beam treatment planning for breast cases and 1 for a whole brain case

- Performed routine QA tests with water phantoms on CT machine

- Assisted with patient check-in and assisted with patient set-up on Varian ix linear accelerator

Houston Baptist University Apr 2021

Outreach

Medical Physics Mini-Series (4-week mini-series; 8 sessions)

- Prepared lessons and held two sessions each week for four weeks

- Each 60-minute session included a 20-to-30-minute didactic lecture, followed with an in-class programming portion where students were guided through programming exercises related to the didactic content

- The purpose of these sessions was to introduce undergraduates to the field of medical physics while teaching them how to program in the Python programming language.

- Examples of miniseries content here: https://sites.google.com/view/constance-owens/other/miniseries-for-undergrads

MDACC UTHealth Graduate School of Biomedical Science Jun 2019 – Jun 2021

Medical Physics Student Council

Education Chair (2019 – 2020) & Student Faculty Liaison (2020 – 2021)

- Prepared lessons and held biweekly study sessions with students to prepare for the American Board of Radiology part 1 exam in Summer 2019 and Fall 2020 semesters

- Held biweekly sessions to help 1st and 2nd years prepare for the breadth portion of the candidacy exam

- Held as-needed sessions with 1st years to assist with understanding class materials

Houston Baptist University Aug 2012 – Dec 2013

Teaching Assistant (Department of Mathematics and Physics)

- Setup and maintain lab equipment for physics I and physics II labs and assist students with lab setup

- Tutor and assist students with class assignments and with use of mathematics program Maple

The Association for the People and the Community Dec 2011 – Mar 2012

Tutor

- Prepared middle and high school students (individually and in groups up to 15) for standardized state tests

- Prepared curriculum before each session and assessed student progress after each session