Nimita Shinde

Research Goals

Developing optimization algorithms and computational frameworks for next-generation radiation therapy and healthcare decision-making. My research integrates mixed-integer optimization, computational medical physics, and quantum-inspired methods to design scalable solutions for complex treatment planning problems. 

Research Areas

News

• December 2026 – Research on "Geometry-adaptive lattice peak optimization and the novel minibeam plattice modality in proton radiotherapy" selected for oral presentation at Flash Radiotherapy and Particle Therapy (FRPT 2026).

• September 2026 – Presented two posters at ASTRO 2026: “Lattice Peak Optimization: Geometry-Adaptive Lattice Radiotherapy Using Mixed-Integer Optimization” and “Quantum-Inspired Optimization for Beam Angle Selection in Proton Therapy.”

• September 2026 – Paper accepted for publication in Medical Physics: Shinde, N., Zhu, Y., Shen, H., and Gao, H., 2026. A quantum computing approach to beam angle optimization.

• September 2026 – Our work “Lattice Peak Optimization: Geometry-Adaptive Lattice Radiotherapy Using Mixed-Integer Optimization” was selected as a top-scoring abstract and invited for presentation at the Presidential Science Poster Session at the ASTRO 2026 Annual Meeting.

• September 2026 – Received 2026 Annual Meeting Abstract Award for our work “Lattice Peak Optimization: Geometry-Adaptive Lattice Radiotherapy Using Mixed-Integer Optimization”, presented at ASTRO 2026.

• August 2026 –  Paper accepted for publication in Medical Physics: Wu, W., Shinde, N., Li, J., Vanhaezebrouck, I., Jiang, K., Lin, Y., Li, Q. and Gao, H., 2026. Photon minibeam‐based LATTICE radiotherapy for small and medium‐sized tumors: A dosimetric planning study. Medical Physics, 53(8), p.e70596. [pdf]

• July 2026 – Research on “Collimator Position Optimization for Proton Minibeam Radiation Therapy” selected for oral presentation at the 2026 Joint AAPM | COMP Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

• July 2026 –  Paper accepted for publication in Medical Physics: Tong, X., Zhu, Y.N., Shinde, N., Li, W., Zhang, W., Wang, C., Lin, Y. and Gao, H., 2026. A single‐field‐each‐peak optimization method for motion‐robust proton LATTICE therapy. Medical Physics, 53(7). [pdf]

• June 2026 – Received the ASTRO-BCRF Trainee Travel Award for ASTRO 2026.

• June 2026 – Presented the selected oral presentation “Collimator Position Optimization for Proton Minibeam Radiation Therapy” at PTCOG 64 in Deauville, France.

Academic Appointments

• Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, July 2025 - Present

• Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Kansas Medical Center, June 2024 - July 2025

• Postdoctoral Researcher, Lehigh University, June 2023 - May 2024

• Research Associate, ICERM, Brown University, September 2022 - May 2023

• Research Scholar, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Monash University, 2018 - 2022