Associate/Full Professor of Clinical Radiation Oncology Medical Physics

The University of Southern California (USC), founded in 1880, is the largest private employer in the City of Los Angeles. As an employee of USC, you will be a part of a world-class research university and a member of the "Trojan Family," which comprises the faculty, students and staff that make the university what it is. 

The Department of Radiation Oncology, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California is a robust team of clinicians and basic science/clinical researchers consisting of approximately 14 physician faculty and 9 medical physicist faculty. We provide services at seven hospitals, including Keck Hospital of USC, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, USC Arcadia Hospital, Adventist White Memorial Hospital, Henry Mayo Newall Hospital and up to six community-based clinics when building construction has been completed. The Department has ACR accreditation for USC Norris Cancer Hospital and all of its Keck Medicine of USC regional radiation oncology clinics. The CHLA radiation oncology unit has earned APEX accreditation and is part of the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The program is a full member of the NRG, NSABP, and GOG. It also participates in clinical trials sponsored by SWOG. Our medical physics faculty are directly involved in ensuring quality and safety for clinical operations, clinical research, and education and are initiating a new CAMPEP accredited medical physics residency training program. 

The Department at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center is equipped with a state-of the art Varian Truebeam STX with Brain Lab ExacTrac for high precision monitoring of positioning during treatment, a new Varian Truebeam with HyperArc, and a Trilogy machine. Additional integrated technologies include a dedicated Siemens CT simulator, Varian RPM respiratory gating, and prone breast technique. The HDR brachytherapy program is housed in a dedicated procedural suite with full anesthesia capability, and Varisource HDR brachytherapy unit and is active in GU, GYN, skin cancers with plans to add other disease sites. The Keck Hospital houses a Gamma knife that is being upgraded to the latest model. An ongoing program in ocular melanoma involves joint faculty from the Roski Eye Institute who treat patients with episcleral plaque brachytherapy. The department’s community-based clinics feature new Varian Truebeam and Halcyon (ring-based gantry) linear accelerators with capabilities for gating, radiosurgery and SBRT.  

The Newport Beach Medical Office Building will house a newly built radiation oncology department and offer outstanding patient convenience and access. The Newport Beach radiation oncology department is also in convenient proximity to the very active USC Newport Beach Medical Oncology practice clinic. The Newport Beach department features four state of the art modalities. 

Our medical physics faculty are fulfilling the tripartite mission for clinical service, research, and education for the department. Our team values are embodied in the acronym Excellence, Teamwork, Compassion and Harmony (ETCH).  

Position Summary:

The Department of Radiation Oncology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California is recruiting a mid-career to senior level board-certified (DABR/DABMP) medical physics faculty at the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor on our Clinical track. It is preferred that the candidate possess significant pediatric radiation therapy experience, and have a strong publication, national service, and teaching record. Evidence of successful program creation and implementation is desirable. The successful candidate will receive an academic appointment after formal Keck School of Medicine committee review of their dossier. The academic rank given must be supported by their academic track record and national reputation.  This position reports to the Chief of Medical Physics and will primarily provide comprehensive clinical medical physics services at Newport Beach and our other sites, along with scholarship development of other faculty, resident trainees, and students at USC/Keck. 

• This position must be flexible to cover other satellite clinics as needed and perform other duties as assigned. The Medical Physicist will be hired primarily for the Newport Beach Radiation Oncology site but maybe asked to help at Norris or any of the other community sites as assigned/needed.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Medical Physicist ensures that all physics related aspects of treatment delivery, machine performance and quality assurance, and patient quality assurance are within acceptable tolerances to ensure that each treatment matches physician planning intent and can safely be treated.  The Medical Physicist is involved in the radiation oncology radiation safety program. Provides annual report on quality management program of the department. Provides physics consultation with physician or dosimetrist to evaluate feasibility and quality of treatment plans and helps solve difficult planning problems.  Provides technical supervision of therapists as needed and advises on patient setups and treatment delivery as necessary to ensure optimal treatment delivery.  Oversees all delivery of brachytherapy to ensure radiation safety and treatment accuracy. Advises on the use of in-vivo dosimetry for cases when appropriate and performs analysis.  Performs or supervises acceptance testing and commissioning of any new treatment delivery hardware or software and subsequently maintains records of continued maintenance, logs, and performance issues.  Ensures satisfactory resolution of any equipment faults by service personnel. Provides educational support to radiation oncologist residents, medical school students, and other students. Performs original research with the goal of presenting and/or publishing such work.

Primary medical physicist working full-time on-site at the Newport Beach Medical Office Building leading, overseeing, and establishing the clinical physics operations and standards of the radiation oncology practice in collaboration with Keck Medicine Hospital administration. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• ABR/ABMP Board Certified and California Registered TCP. 

• Associate Professor or Full Professor rank eligibility. 

• 7+  years clinical practice experience in academic setting preferably with leadership and education experiences, and research. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior clinical medical physics experience in pediatric radiotherapy services 

• Demonstrated national and international reputation in scholarship, education/mentoring commensurate with the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor appointment.  

• Demonstrated outstanding communication and teamwork skills  

• Interest in leading and expanding a medical physics mentorship program within the department of radiation oncology.   

• Experience in mentoring junior faculty, residents and students. 

We offer a highly competitive salary package with excellent benefits (https://employees.usc.edu/benefits-perks/). Compensation will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.  

The annual base salary range for this position is $245,000 - $345,000. You may also be eligible for incentive compensation as defined by your department. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.  

USC is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law or USC policy. USC observes affirmative action obligations consistent with state and federal law.

We provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. Applicants with questions about access or in need of a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should contact USC Human Resources at (213) 821-8100 or by email at uschr@usc.edu. Inquiries will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law.