Biography

I’m currently a Ph.D. student in Medical Physics at Duke University School of Medicine. I am working under the guidance of Professor Fang-Fang Yin, Ph.D. at the Department of Radiation Oncology.

On June 25th, 1986, I was born in Santiago, the capital and largest city of Chile, surrounded by the Andes Mountains. In this place, I have lived with my family all my life. During my high school years, I developed a strong passion for physics and mathematics. After high school, I studied two undergraduate programs at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: the first in Natural Science and Mathematics with a major in Economics and the second one in Physics, graduating in December 2012 and January 2013. For the Physics program, I developed a thesis entitled “Monte Carlo simulation: X-ray tube for cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)” under the supervision of prof. Dr. Beatriz Sánchez and prof. Dr. Edgardo Dörner. This research aimed to estimate the probability of generating secondary cancer due to the use of a CBCT.

The potential applications of my undergraduate thesis project led me to pursue a dual Master’s degree program in Medical Physics offered by the Medical Faculty at Universität Heidelberg and the Faculty of Physics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Due to the involvement of commercial enterprises and high safety requirements in medical applications, radiotherapy treatment planning systems (TPS) usually have a closed architecture and inaccessible source code. This compromises both the broad availability of radiation treatment planning software for educational purposes and the flexibility regarding custom developments in an academic setting; for that reason, I was awarded the Baden-Württemberg Scholarship to develop my Master thesis in the optimization algorithm group at the Department of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), located in Heidelberg, Germany to developed an open-source treatment planning system. I obtained my M.Sc. in 2015, with a thesis entitled “Development and application of matRad: a multi-modality open-source 3D treatment planning system” under the supervision of Dr. Mark Bangert. matRad is the first open-source Treatment Planning System capable of working in three different modalities using the same code: photon, proton, and carbon ion therapy.

During my spare time, I enjoy relaxing and going out with family and friends. I also enjoy cooking, listening to music, and keeping up with current affairs. Furthermore, I am interested in hiking and trekking and have visited several mountains in the Andes.

Education

Academic Positions

  • 20172017

    Part time Lecturer

    Universidad Mayor, Industrial Engineering department

  • 20162016

    Part time Lecturer

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Faculty of Physics.

  • 20172016

    Part time Lecturer

    DUOC UC Comunity College

Work Experience

  • 20182017

    Senior Business Data Analyst

    LATAM Airlines

  • 20172016

    Consultant

    ECONlink Consulting Firm

  • 20152014

    Master thesis Intern

    German Cancer Research Center, Department of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology

Honors and Awards

  • 2022
    Duke University Graduate School Administrative Intern for the University Center of Exemplary Mentoring
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    The internship is for the new University Center of Exemplary Mentoring at Duke. It’s funded by a three-year grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The intern will be assisting with the center’s efforts to increase the number of STEM PhDs in the physical sciences and engineering.

    More information

  • 2019
    MIT Innovators Under 35
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    Innovators Under 35 is the most prestigious recognition worldwide from MIT Technology Review. Since 1999, MIT Technology Review has honored the young innovators whose inventions and research are the most exciting. Innovators Under 35 is a list of technologists and scientists, all under the age of 35, whose work is changing the world. The list recognizes the development of new technology or the creative application of existing technologies to solve global problems in industries such as biomedicine, computing, communications, energy, materials, software, transportation, web, and the internet.

    Link to MIT Under 35 award in: English, Spanish.

  • 2018
    Fulbright Ph.D. Scholarship
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    Sponsor by the U.S. Department of State. The main goal is to improve intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills. The program was founded by the United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 and is considered to be one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world.

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  • 2018
    Chilean National Agency for Research and Development Ph.D. scholarship
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    The Chilean National Research and Development Agency, ANID, is the agency responsible for the management and the implementation of programs and instruments to promote and develop research in all areas of knowledge, technological development, and scientific-technological innovation, according to the policies defined by the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge, and Innovation. This scholarship enables qualified graduates to obtain or continue a doctoral degree in any area of expertise at an institution of excellence in any foreign country complementing financial support.

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  • 2015
    J.R. Cunningham Young Investigator Award
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    The award is presented to the top three speakers in the Young Investigators’ Symposium held during the annual meeting of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physics. The presentations are judged for scientific excellence and for clarity of presentation. The Symposium is widely recognized as one of the highlights of the annual meeting, with presentations that are of international caliber.

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  • 2015
    Best presentation by the International Organization of Medical Physics (IOMP)
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    The best presentation by the International Organization of Medical Physics (IOMP) by the work: “matRad: a multimodality open source treatment planning toolkit”. World Congress in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering 2015 (Toronto, Canada)
  • 2014
    Baden-Württemberg Scholarship
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    The scholarship addresses highly qualified undergraduates, graduates, and doctoral candidates either at institutions of higher education in the Land of Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

    Provided to support my Master’s thesis research at the Department of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

    Duration: August 2014 – February 2015.

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  • 2014
    Master Clinical Medical Physics Scholarship, DAAD - Heidelberg Universität
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    The scholarship covered the tuition and fees for the Master’s program “Clinical Medical Physics” offered by the University of Heidelberg. The scholarship was funded by the Center of Excellence in Research and Teaching, financed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD – Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), and awarded to the two top students of the year enrolled in the Master’s program.

    Duration: March 2014 – July 2014.

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  • 2013
    Physics Faculty Scholarship, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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    Tuition fee (year 2013) on the Master program ``Medical Physics``, by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. The scholarship was founded by ``Vicerrectoría Académica UC`` and awarded to promising students.
  • 2012
    San Andrés Scholarship, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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    The Interdisciplinary program of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile has created this scholarship with the purpose of supporting the graduates who choose to carry out postgraduate studies in the UC. The scholarship consists of the partial payment of the postgraduate fee. Grant funding for Master’s degree studies at PUC. Awarded to the four top students.

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  • 2010
    Double Degree Scholarship, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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    The Double Degree Scholarship is awarded to undergraduate students with academic merit who want to pursue two degrees simultaneously: Physics & Economics. The scholarship provided full tuition and mandatory fees for my B.Sc. in Physics degree.

    Duration: March 2010 – December 2012

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