PETER BRIAN DUNSCOMBE
Occupation: Professor, Departments of Oncology and Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary;
Director, Department of Medical Physics, Tom Baker Cancer Centre
Born: 1946
Education: B.Sc., Physics, University of London
Ph.D., Nuclear Physics, University of Birmingham
Dip. Econ., University of London
Certifications: Fellow of the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine
Career: Following his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics, Dr. Dunscombe spent two years at the University of Hamburg as a Royal Society of London Post-doctoral Fellow with research in the area of polarized neutrons. After a year back at the University of Birmingham teaching and continuing with Nuclear Physics research, the opportunity to change fields to Medical Physics presented itself. Dr. Dunscombe moved to London in 1974 to work as a Senior Physicist at Charing Cross Hospital in Fulham. Eight years later he was on the move again, this time to Winnipeg, Canada, where he subsequently became Director of Medical Physics at the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation in 1986. In 1990, another move took him to the Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre, Sudbury, as Chief Physicist of the first new cancer centre in Canada for many years. Academic affiliations at this time were with Laurentian University and the University of Ottawa. The most recent move has been to Calgary in 2001 to take up the positions of Professor of Oncology and Physics and Astronomy, and Director of Medical Physics at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre. The Department, with a staff and student complement of about 50, supports not only diverse clinical programs but also a growing graduate program in Radiation Oncology Physics and various research projects linked to clinical activities. Dr. Dunscombe’s research interests include not only traditional medical physics areas but also studies in activity based costing, health economics and risk management.
Publications [Up to 15]:
Quantitative Approaches to Patient Safety: Research in Risk Analysis and Risk Management as Applied to Radiotherapy.
R. Lee, K-L. Kelly, C. Newcomb, D. Cooke, E. Ekaette, P. Craighead and P. Dunscombe
HTA Initiative #15 (2004) Alberta Heritage Fund for Medical Research
EUD based margin selection in the presence of set-up uncertainties.
W. Song and P. Dunscombe
Medical Physics 31 (2004) 849-859
A cost-outcome analysis of long term adjuvant goserelin in addition to radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer,
R. Samant, P. Dunscombe and G. Roberts
Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations 21 (2003) 171-177
Geographic delivery models for radiotherapy services.
G. Roberts, P. Dunscombe and R. Samant
Australasian Radiology, 46 (2002) 290-4
Independent corroboration of monitor unit calculations performed by a 3D computerized planning system.
K.W. Leszczynski and P. Dunscombe
Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 1 (2000) 120-125
A cost-outcome analysis of adjuvant post-mastectomy locoregional radiotherapy in premenopausal node positive breast cancer patients.
P. Dunscombe, R. Samant and G.Roberts.
International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. 48 (2000) 977-982
A Test Tool for the Visual Verification of Light and Radiation Fields using Film or an EPID.
P. Dunscombe, S. Desjardins and K. Leszczynski.
Medical Physics 26, (1999) 239-243
Anthropomorphic phantom measurements for the validation of a treatment planning system.
P. Dunscombe, P. McGhee and E. Lederer.
Phys. Med. Biol. 41 (1996) 399-411.
Quantitative vs. Subjective Portal Verification Using Digital Portal Images.
R. Bissett, K. Leszczynski, S. Loose, S. Boyko and P. Dunscombe.
Int. J. Radial. Biol. Phys. 34 (1996) 489-495.
Awards: Fellow of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Activities:
Continuing Professional Development
Additional Professional Organization Activities:
Chair, Radiation Safety and Technical Standards Committee of the Canadian Organisation of Medical Physicists
Member, Radiotherapy Quality Assurance Committee of the National Cancer Institute of Canada
Member, Human Resources Action Group, Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control
Member, Board of Directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP)
Member, CAMPEP Residency Education Program Review Committee