Personal details
- Name
- Dr Andrew Fielding
- Position(s)
- Senior Lecturer
Science and Engineering Faculty,
School of Chemistry & Physics - IHBI Membership
Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation (IHBI),
IHBI Science and Engineering Projects,
IHBI Chem Physics Mech Engineering - CDA - Discipline *
- Other Physical Sciences, Oncology and Carcinogenesis
- Phone
- +61 7 3138 5325
- a.fielding@qut.edu.au
- Location
- View location details (QUT staff and student access only)
- Identifiers and profiles
-
- Qualifications
-
Ph.d in Physics (University of Portsmouth)
- Professional memberships
and associations - Member of the Institute of Physics
- Member Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine
- Chartered Physicist
- Keywords
-
Imaging, Medical Physics, Radiation Therapy
Biography
I am a physicist whose research interests are in medical imaging and radiation therapy. I have led and supervised research in image guided radiotherapy, translation of new technologies and techniques, and monte-carlo techniques for dosimetry of complex radiotherapy treatment techniques. This research work has been translated into clinical practice in radiotherapy departments improving the standard of care for cancer patients. I hold a B.Sc. (Hons.) from the University of Surrey, UK and a PhD (Thesis title: Final State Effects in Neutron Compton Scattering) from the University of Portsmouth, UK. I spent four years at the Institute of Cancer Research / Royal Marsden Hospital, UK carrying out post-doctoral research in the radiotherapy research group. I currently hold the position of Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemistry and Physics within the Science & Engineering Faculty. I am the course co-ordinator of the QUT Graduate Diploma and Master of Applied Science programs in Medical Physics.
Career History
- 2008 – present: Senior Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
- 2007 – present: Course Coordinator, GradDip/MAppSc (Medical Physics)
- 2004 – 2008: Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
- 2000 – 2004: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research & Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK
- 1998 – 2000: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- 1997 – 1998: Algorithm Development and Data Analysis, Advanced Systems Architecture Ltd, Alton, UK
Teaching
Learning and Teaching Philosophy
I have significant experience of learning and teaching in higher education since 2000 and over the course of this period have seen significant changes in the practice as well as significant shifts in the expectations of the learners and the organisation in which I primarily operate. This has required a significant amount of flexibility in my approach and philosophy, particularly in more recent times. In the early days of my teaching career, my philosophy was very much driven by my own experiences as a student. On reflecting back to my own time as a student the important characteristics of the ‘good lecturers’ were excellent all-round communication skills, being well prepared, an obviously deep and thorough understanding of the subject material and above all a passion for their subject and students. There was also little or no use of technology in the practice of the teaching.
The majority of my teaching is spent in the fields of diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology medical physics at Masters level. The approach I take in teaching these subjects is that students must first and foremost be excellent physicists. This is essential before the student can begin to apply their physics knowledge and skills to medicine. The aim of my teaching is to provide the physics graduate with the further knowledge and skills required for a career in medical physics and to start to familiarise them with the language, terminology, and professional attitude required to enter a clinical medical physics training program on completion of the course.
In teaching these medical physics students my philosophy is largely about ensuring they gain a significant awareness of the practical application of the more theoretical knowledge the course provides them with. This clear link to the medical physics workplace enables the student to understand why the medical physics they are studying is important. I attempt to achieve this through strong engagement with clinical medical physics colleagues and the inclusion of practical aspects in the courses I teach directly and oversee as course coordinator. In recent years this has involved experimentation and implementation with alternative modes of teaching including greater use of online technologies, virtual reality, and simulation technology. I also put a greater emphasis on assessment that authentically aligns closely with the work the students will find themselves doing in the clinical training and their subsequent careers.
Teaching discipline: Physics
I coordinate and/or teach the following units:
- PCN113 Radiation Physics (Unit coordinator and lecturer)
- PCN212 Radiotherapy (Unit coordinator and lecturer)
- PCN112 Medical Imaging Science (Unit coordinator and lecturer)
- PCN218 Research Methodology and Professional Studies (Unit coordinator and lecturer)
- PCN520 Project (Unit coordinator and supervisor)
- PVB304 Physics Research (Supervisor)
- PCB272 Radiation Physics (Unit coordinator and lecturer)
- CSB064 Advanced Treatment Planning Topics (Lecturer)
- CSB069/CSB094 Radiation Therapy Treatment 4 (Lecturer)
Publications
- Fielding A, Benitez Mendieta J, Maxwell S, Jones C, (2019) The effect of respiratory motion on electronic portal imaging device dosimetry, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics p45-55
- Brown A, Tan A, Cooper S, Fielding A, (2018) Obesity does not influence prostate intrafractional motion, Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences p31-38
- Chamunyonga C, Burbery J, Caldwell P, Rutledge P, Fielding A, Crowe S, (2018) Utilising the virtual environment for radiotherapy training system to support undergraduate teaching of IMRT, VMAT, DCAT treatment planning, and QA concepts, Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences p31-38
- Fielding A, Prisciandaro J, (2018) Changes and demands in the higher education sector are increasingly making advanced degree medical physics programs nonviable and the profession will have to develop a new model for delivering such education, Medical Physics p1-4
- Fitzgerald R, Owen R, Hargrave C, Pryor D, Lehman M, Bernard A, Mai T, Seshadri V, Fielding A, (2017) A comparison of non-coplanar three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, and volumetric modulated radiation therapy for the delivery of stereotactic ablative radiation therapy to peripheral lung cancer, Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences p360-369
- Bridge P, Fielding A, Rowntree P, Pullar A, (2017) Minimal point volumetric outlining and editing for radiotherapy treatment planning, Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice p280-285
- Bridge P, Fielding A, Rowntree P, Pullar A, (2017) Qualitative evaluation of a novel 3D volumetric radiotherapy segmentation tool, Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences p178-183
- Fitzgerald R, Owen R, Hargrave C, Pryor D, Barry T, Lehman M, Bernard A, Mai T, Seshadri V, Fielding A, (2016) A comparison of three different VMAT techniques for the delivery of lung stereotactic ablative radiation therapy, Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences p23-30
- Bridge P, Fielding A, Pullar A, Rowntree P, (2016) Development and initial evaluation of a novel 3D volumetric outlining system, Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice p38-44
- Bridge P, Fielding A, Rowntree P, Pullar A, (2016) Intraobserver variability: Should we worry?, Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences p217-220
For more publications by this staff member, visit QUT ePrints, the University's research repository.
Research projects
Grants and projects (Category 1: Australian Competitive Grants only)
- Title
- Monitoring Tumour Movement During Radiotherapy by 4D Ultrasound Imaging
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 614217
- Start year
- 2010
- Keywords
- Image Guided Radiotherapy; Ultrasound; Robitic Intervention; Radiation Dosimetry Phantom; Organ/Tumor Motion Tracking
- Title
- Improving Outcomes of Radiotherapy Treatments through In-vivo Dosimetric Verification
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 553012
- Start year
- 2009
- Keywords
- Radiotherapy; Cancer; Radiation Measurement; Dosimetry; Electronic Portal Imaging Devices
- Title
- The Use of Electronic Portal Imaging Devices for the Dosimetric Verification of Complex Radiotherapy Treatments
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 390117
- Start year
- 2006
- Keywords
- Radiotherapy; Image Guided; EPID; Verification; Dosimetry
Supervision
Current supervisions
- CONSTRUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL COLLIMATORS FOR PRECLINICAL RADIOTHERAPY APPLICATIONS
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Davide Fontanarosa - Exploring the immunomodulatory effect of radiotherapy to improve the outcome of immunotherapy for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer.
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Davide Fontanarosa - On Minimizing Influence of Interplay effect for the Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) of Lung tumour
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Adjunct Associate Professor Prabhakar Ramachandran, Associate Professor Davide Fontanarosa
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Dosimetric Verification of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Treatment Plans For Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Using Monte Carlo Simulation (2017)
- The Development and Evaluation of a Novel 3D Radiotherapy Immersive Outlining Tool (2017)
- Mega Voltage Cone Beam Computed Tomography with a Standard Medical Linear Accelerator (2015)
- The Development of Monte-Carlo Techniques for the Verification of Radiotherapy Treatments (2011)
- The use of Monte Carlo methods to study the effect of X-Ray spectral variations on the response of an Amorphous Silicon Electronic Portal Imaging Device (2007)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
- Verification of Patient Position during Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy by Electronic Portal Imaging Devices Using Monte Carlo Techniques (2018)
- A Comparison of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) and 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy (3DCRT) for Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy (SABR) for Early Stage Lung Cancer (2016)
- Investigation of Fiducial Marker and Soft-Tissue Image Guidance Techniques in Prostate Radiation Therapy (2015)
- Investigation of the Relationship Between BMI and Prostate Motion in Radiation Therapy Treatment for Prostate Cancer (2015)
- Image acquisition and manipulation protocols for CT-PET fusion to improve the accuracy of gross tumour volume localisation for 3-D conformal radiotherapy for lung cancer (2010)