Emily Draeger, PhD, DABR
Biography
Research & Publications
News
Appointments
Biography
Dr. Emily Draeger received her B.S. degree in physics from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 2009. She then pursued her Ph.D. in experimental high energy/nuclear physics at Illinois Institute of Technology. Her work contributed to the Daya Bay Antineutrino Experiment, which was awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2014.
After receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Draeger was accepted into the Medical Physics Post-Graduate Certificate program at the University of Pennsylvania, which she completed in 2015. She then completed a post-doctoral position at the University of Maryland, which focused on prompt gamma proton range verification. Her post-doctoral work resulted in several awards, as well as manuscripts and a patent. She then took a position as a research physicist in the Division of Translational Radiation Sciences at the University of Maryland, where she worked on irradiation protocol design for the testing of new therapeutics for cancer treatment and the mitigation of health effects caused by radiation exposure.
After her time at the University of Maryland, Dr. Draeger was accepted into the therapeutic medical physics residency program at Yale-New Haven Hospital, which she completed in 2020. She then joined Yale-New Haven Hospital as a Medical Physicist and Yale University as an assistant professor in 2021. Since joining the department, Dr. Draeger continues to support patient care, resident education, and continues to conduct research, focusing on brachytherapy applications, stereotactic radiosurgery, and Monte Carlo modeling.
Education & Training
- Medical Physics ResidencyYale New Haven Hospital/Yale School of Medicine (2020)
- Post-Graduate Certificate in Medical PhysicsUniversity of Pennsylvania (2015)
- PhDIllinois Institute of Technology, Physics (2014)
- BSUniversity of Minnesota Duluth, Physics (2009)
Activities
- An Introduction to Radionuclide-Based Brachytherapy for Superficial TargetsNew Orleans, LA, United States 2022AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting
- The importance and challenges of standardizing reporting of radiation dosimetry parameters in radiobiology67th Annual Meeting, Virtual, October 2021 2021RRS 67th Annual Meeting
- Automated Verification of Treatment Parameter Transfer Between TPS and OIS Databases63rd Annual Meeting, Virtual, July 2021 2021AAPM 63rd Annual Meeting
- Utilizing Tumor Control Probability to Aid in Selection of Multi-Dwell or Single-Dwell Methodology for Leipzig-Style Applicators: A Preliminary StudyAnnual Meeting, Virtual, June 2021 20212021 ABS Annual Meeting
- Strategies to expand viable treatment area in tungsten shell applicators for surface brachytherapyAnnual Meeting, Virtual, October 2020 20202020 ASTRO Annual Meeting
- On the Feasibility of Angle-Resolved Portal Dosimetry for Patient Specific Quality Assurance of VMAT PlansAAPM/COMP Joint Meeting, Virtual, July 2020 20202020 AAPM/COMP Joint Meeting
- Development of Multiple Dwell Techniques in Horizontally-Oriented Leipzig-Style Applicators for Surface Brachytherapy Guided by a Model-Based Dose Calculation AlgorithmAAPM/COMP Joint Meeting, Virtual, July 2020 20202020 AAPM/COMP Joint Meeting
- Validation of OSLD In-Vivo Dosimetry for Total Body IrradiationAAPM/COMP Joint Meeting, Virtual, July 2020 20202020 AAPM/COMP Joint Meeting
- Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for in Vivo Biodosimetry in Radiotherapy PatientsSan Antonio, TX, United States 2019AAPM 61st Annual Meeting
- Two Decades of Physics and Dosimetry Reporting in Radiobiological Studies: A Potential Factor of the Reproducibility CrisisSan Antonio, TX, United States 2019AAPM 61st Annual Meeting
- Two decades of physics and dosimetry reporting in radiobiological studies: A potential factor of the reproducibility crisisBoston, MA, United States 20192019 NEAAPM Spring Meeting
- Physics and dosimetry reporting in radiation biology: Where do we stand now?Chicago, IL, United States 20182018 RRS Annual Meeting
- Optimization of total-body irradiation (TBI) technique in mini-pig modelsChicago, IL, United States 20182018 RRS Annual Meeting
- Prompt gamma-based Compton imaging for proton range verificationDuluth, MN, United States 2016University of Minnesota Duluth, Department of Physics & Astronomy Seminar
- A 3 Dimensional Prompt Gamma Imaging System for Range Verification in Proton RadiotherapyWashington, DC, United States 2016AAPM 58th Annual Meeting
- A Method to Improve the Spatial Resolution of Prompt Gamma Based Compton Imaging for Proton Range VerificationWashington, DC, United States 2016AAPM 58th Annual Meeting
- Improving image reconstruction for Compton camera based imaging for proton radiotherapy verificationTurin, Piedmont, Italy 2016ESTRO 35
- A method to improve the spatial resolution of prompt gamma based Compton imaging for proton range verificationAnnapolis, MD, United States 20162016 MAC-AAPM Annual Meeting
Honors & Recognition
Award | Awarding Organization | Date |
---|---|---|
Best Oral Presentation Award | COMP/CARO/CAMRT | 2018 |
Young Investigator's Symposium Award | MAC-AAPM | 2016 |
Abell Foundation Award for Top Biotechnology Innovation | 2016 | |
AAPM Science Council Award for Top Abstract | AAPM | 2016 |
Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics | 2016 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
Connecticut Area Medical Physics Society | President | 2023 |
American Association of Physicists in Medicine | Women's Professional Subcommittee | 2023 - Present |
Frontiers in Physics | Topic Editor for Prompt-gamma Imaging in Particle Therapy | 2023 - Present |
Department of Radiation Oncology | Standardization Committee | 2022 - Present |
Connecticut Area Medical Physics Society | President-elect | 2022 |
Medical Physics | Reviewer | 2022 - Present |
AAPM Multi-Institutional Journal Club | Group lead for multi-institutional journal club #8 | 2021 - 2022 |
Scientific Reports | Reviewer | 2021 - Present |
American Brachytherapy Society | Member | 2020 - Present |
American Society for Radiation Oncology | Member | 2020 - Present |
Brachytherapy | Reviewer | 2020 - Present |
New England Chapter of the AAPM | Member | 2019 - Present |
Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics | Reviewer | 2019 - Present |
Connecticut Area Medical Physics Society | Member | 2018 - Present |
Radiation Research Society | Member | 2018 - Present |
IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences | Reviewer | 2017 - Present |
American Association of Physicists in Medicine | Member | 2015 - Present |