Frequently Asked Questions about our Program
- FAQ: What courses are offered related to Medical Physics?
- For a list of related courses, see the COURSES link in right-hand menu.
- FAQ: What is the difference between the following 3 different programs at Western: Medical Physics, Medical Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering?
- Western quite uniquely has three very strong and collaborative academic
programs related to multidisciplinary biophysics research:
- Medical Physics within the Department of Physics & Astronomy (undergraduate and graduate) which is in the Faculty of Science
- The Department of Medical Biophysics (undergraduate and graduate) which is in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
- And the Biomedical Engineering graduate program in the Faculty of Engineering.
Most faculty members in Western's biomedical (medical physics) community have cross-appointments in all three departments, and hence they teach and supervise students through all three departments. Collectively, these three programs enable students coming from a variety of backgrounds to continue training in their specific discipline while taking on multi-disciplinary research.
Physics (Medical Physics) primarily accepts physics students and continues a physics-based training in terms of courses (e.g. tackling more of the physics in a radiation course than would be done in a course targeted at biologists), alongside the chosen medical physics research. Similarly, Biomedical Engineering (BME) primarily accepts engineers. Medical Biophysics is more open-ended and can accommodate any background.
The course requirement is customized for a student's background and research project. Courses are targeted at an audience of diverse backgrounds and typically will also include students from Medical Physics and BME. In fact, several courses are shared across the three departments in that they are cross-listed under the different departments and taught by faculty from one or more of the departments. For example, Physics 472/555 Radiological Physics is taught by Dr. Eugene Wong from the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, along with scientists from several other departments, and includes both undergraduate and graduate students from all three of Medical Physics, Medical Biophysics, and Biomedical Engineering.
Finally, we should point out that Western's biomedical research is ongoing not only on campus but also at several locations across London, including the Lawson Health Research Institute (LHRI), the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), the London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP), and the Robarts Research Institute (RRI).
This network of scientists, programs, and research areas means that in essence, a student can select the program most appropriate to his or her background and then select a research project and research supervisor generally independent of the chosen program.
