Song Gao, Ph.D.
Department of Radiation Physics, Division of Radiation Oncology
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Radiation Physics - Patient Care, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2004 | Concordia University, Montreal, CAN, M.Sc, Computer Science |
| 1995 | Fudan University, Shanghai, CHN, Ph.D, Physics |
| 1990 | Huazhong Normal University, Wuhan, CHN, M.Sc, Physics |
| 1983 | Huazhong Normal University, Wuhan, CHN, B.Sc, Physics |
Postgraduate Training
| 2016-2016 | Clinical Training, Radiation Physics & Radiation Biology, The Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI |
| 2012-2012 | Clinical Training, Radiation Treatment Machine, Varian Medical Systems, Inc, Las Vegas, NV |
| 2008-2008 | Clinical Training, Therapy Physics Review, The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), Houston, TX |
| 2006-2006 | Clinical Training, Dosimetry, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2005-2005 | Clinical Training, Radiotherapy Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2004-2007 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2000-2000 | Research Scientist, McGill University, Department of Physics, Montreal |
| 1997-1999 | Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University Frankfurt, Frankfurt |
| 1996-1997 | Postdoctoral Fellowship, McGill University, Department of Physics, Montreal |
| 1995-1996 | Postdoctoral Fellowship, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing |
Board Certifications
| 2010 | American Board of Radiology: Therapeutic Radiological Physics |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Physics - Patient Care, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2024
Lecturer, Department of Physics, Bohai University, Jinzhou, 1990 - 1992
Teacher, Department of Physics, Three Gorges University, Yichang, 1983 - 1987
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Associate Faculty Member, The University of Texas, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, 2014 - Present
M.Sc. Candidate & Research Assistant, Concordia University, Department of Computer Science, Montreal, 2001 - 2004
Research Scientist, McGill University, Department of Physics, Montreal, 2000 - 2000
Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, 1997 - 1999
Postdoctoral Researcher, McGill University, Department of Physics, Montreal, 1996 - 1997
Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 1995 - 1996
Ph.D. Candidate & Research Assistant, Fudan University, Department of Physics, Shanghai, 1992 - 1995
M.Sc. Candidate & Research Assistant, Huazhong Normal University, Institute of Particle Physics, Wuhan, 1987 - 1990
Honors & Awards
| 2013 | Clinical Physics Service Leadership Award, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Physics |
| 1997 | Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt Germany |
| 1994 | GuanHua Scholarship, Fudan University, China |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Gao S, Muruganandham M, Du W, Ohrt J, Kudchadker RJ, Balter PA. Adding customized electron energy beams to TrueBeam linear accelerators. J Appl Clin Med Phys 23(7):e13633, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35533212.
- Ayan AS, Kim G, Whitaker M, Al-Hallaq H, Hsu SH, Woollard J, Roberts DA, Shtraus N, Gao S, Gupta N, Moran JM. A framework for automated and streamlined kV cone beam computed tomography image quality assurance: a multi-institutional study. Biomed Phys Eng Express 7(6), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34544065.
- Gao S, Chetvertkov MA, Cai B, Dwivedi A, Mihailidis D, Ray X, Netherton T, Court LE, Simon WE, Balter PA. Beam energy metrics for the acceptance and quality assurance of Halcyon linear accelerator. J Appl Clin Med Phys 22(7):121-127, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34042271.
- Gao S, Chetvertkov MA, Simon WE, Sadeghi A, Balter PA. Monitoring linear accelerators electron beam energy constancy with a 2D ionization chamber array and double-wedge phantom. J Appl Clin Med Phys 21(1):18-25, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31633877.
- Wu RY, Liu AY, Yang J, Williamson TD, Wisdom PG, Bronk L, Gao S, Grosshan DR, Fuller DC, Gunn GB, Ronald Zhu X, Frank SJ. Evaluation of the accuracy of deformable image registration on MRI with a physical phantom. J Appl Clin Med Phys 21(1):166-173, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31808307.
- Wu RY, Liu AY, Williamson TD, Yang J, Wisdom PG, Zhu XR, Frank SJ, Fuller CD, Gunn GB, Gao S. Quantifying the accuracy of deformable image registration for cone-beam computed tomography with a physical phantom. J Appl Clin Med Phys 20(10):92-100, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31541526.
- Gao S, Netherton T, Chetvertkov MA, Li Y, Court LE, Simon WE, Shi J, Balter PA. Acceptance and verification of the Halcyon-Eclipse linear accelerator-treatment planning system without 3D water scanning system. J Appl Clin Med Phys 20(10):111-117, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31553525.
- Netherton T, Li Y, Nitsch P, Shaitelman S, Balter P, Gao S, Klopp A, Muruganandham M, Court L. Interplay effect on a 6-MV flattening-filter-free linear accelerator with high dose rate and fast multi-leaf collimator motion treating breast and lung phantoms. Med Phys 45(6):2369-2376, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29611210.
- Court L, Wang H, Aten D, Brown D, MacGregor H, du Toit M, Chi M, Gao S, Yock A, Aristophanous M, Balter P. Illustrated instructions for mechanical quality assurance of a medical linear accelerator. J Appl Clin Med Phys 19(3):355-359, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29500846.
- Li Y, Netherton T, Nitsch PL, Balter PA, Gao S, Klopp AH, Court LE. Normal tissue doses from MV image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) using orthogonal MV and MV-CBCT. J Appl Clin Med Phys 19(3):52-57, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29500856.
- Gao S, Balter PA, Tran B, Rose M, Simon WE. Quantification of beam steering with an ionization chamber array. J Appl Clin Med Phys 19(3):168-176, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29577578.
- Gao S, Balter PA, Rose M, Simon WE. A comparison of methods for monitoring photon beam energy constancy. J Appl Clin Med Phys 17(6):6454, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27929497.
- Gao S, Sun Y, Zhang X, Hu L, Liu Y, Chua CY, Phillips LM, Ren H, Fleming JB, Wang H, Chiao PJ, Hao J, Zhang W. IGFBP2 Activates the NF-κB Pathway to Drive Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Invasive Character in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res 76(22):6543-6554, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27659045.
- Gao S, Balter PA, Rose M, Simon WE. A comparison of methods for monitoring photon beam energy constancy. J Appl Clin Med Phys 17(6):242-253, 2016. PMID: 28297295.
- Zhang Y, Yang J, Zhang L, Court LE, Gao S, Balter PA, Dong L. Digital reconstruction of high-quality daily 4D cone-beam CT images using prior knowledge of anatomy and respiratory motion. Comput Med Imaging Graph 40:30-38, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25467806.
- Gao S, Du W, Balter P, Munro P, Jeung A. Evaluation of IsoCal geometric calibration system for Varian linacs equipped with on-board imager and electronic portal imaging device imaging systems. J Appl Clin Med Phys 15(3):4688, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24892342.
- Gao S, Du W, Balter P, Munro P, Jeung A. Evaluation of IsoCal geometric calibration system for Varian linacs equipped with on-board imager and electronic portal imaging devices imaging systems. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 15:164-181, 2014.
- Gao S, Balter PA, Rose M, Simon WE. Measurement of changes in linear accelerator photon energy through flatness variation using an ion chamber array. Medical Physics 40(4):042101, 2013. PMID: 23556911.
- Peng Y, Vedam S, Gao S, Balter P. A new respiratory monitoring and processing system based on Wii remote: Proof of principle. Medical Physics 40:071712-1-6, 2013.
- Du W, Gao S, Wang X, Kudchadker RJ. Quantifying the gantry sag on linear accelerators and introducing an MLC-based compensation strategy. Medical Physics 39(4):2156-2162, 2012. PMID: 22482636.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Yang J, Wang H, Zhang L, Court L, Dong L. A hybrid algorithm to address ambiguities in deformable image registration for radiation therapy. IJMPCERO 1:50-59, 2012.
- Du W, Gao S. Measuring the wobble of radiation field centers during gantry rotation and collimator movement on a linear accelerator. Medical Physics 38(8):4575-8, 2011. PMID: 21928629.
- Peng Y, Vedam S, Chang JY, Gao S, Sadagopan R, Bues M, Balter P. Implementation of feedback-guided voluntary breath-hold gating for cone beam CT-based stereotactic body radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 80(3):909-17, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21470784.
- Welsh J, Thomas J, Shah D, Allen P K, Wei X, Mitchell K, Gao S, Bater P, Komaki R, Chang J Y. Obesity Increases the Risk of Chest Wall Pain from Thoracic Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 81:91-96, 2011.
- Gao S, Delclos ME, Tomas LC, Crane CH, Beddar S. High dose rate remote afterloaders for intraoperative radiation therapy. AORN J 86(5):827-36, 2007. PMID: 18050890.
- Gao S, Zhang L, Wang H, de Crevoisier R, Kuban DD, Mohan R, Dong L. A deformable image registration method to handle distended rectums in prostate cancer radiotherapy. Medical Physics 33(9):3304-3312, 2006. PMID: 17022225.
- Gao S, Bui T. Image Segmentation and Selective Smoothing by using Mumford-Shah Model. IEE Transactions on Image Processing 14:1537-1549, 2005.
- Gao S, Gale C, Ernst C, Stoecker H, Greiner W. Rho meson Broadening and dileptons in heavy ion collisions. Nucl Phys A661:518-521, 1999.
- Gao S, Pal S, Stoecker H, Greiner W. Meson mass modification in strange hadronic matter. Phys Lett B465:282-290, 1999.
- Gao S, Gale C. Off-shell effects in dilepton production from hot interacting mesons. Phys Rev C57:254-260, 1998.
- Gao S, Guo X, Li X Shen P. Dissipative potential induced by QCD at finite temperature and density. Phys Rev 828-833, 1997.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. Vacuum fluctuation effects on rho meson mass and the one rho exchange potential at finite temperature and density. Phys Rev C56:3336-3345, 1997.
- Gao S, Su R, Li X. The density effects on the thermal production rate of dilepton in QGP. Commun Theor 28:207-216, 1997.
- Gao S, Su R, Li X. QCD sum rules and J/psi suppression in hot hadronic matter and quark--gluon plasma. Commun Theor Phys 28:476, 1997.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. The effects of vacuum fluctuations on rho meson masses in hot and dense matter. Commun Theor Phys 28:195-200, 1997.
- Gao S, Liu B, Chao W. Thermal mass of the gluon and the dissociation of J/ and in QGP environment. High Energy Phys and Nucl Phys 21:322, 1997.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, He Y, Su R, Li X. Phase structure of strange matter in a nontopological soliton model. Chinese Phys 14:89-92, 1997.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. Bonn potential model at finite temperature. Phys Rev C53:1098-1101, 1996.
- Gao S, Liu B, Chao WQ. Color screening and dissociation of charmonium at finite temperature and density. Phys Lett B378:23-28, 1996.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. Effective masses of mesons and nucleon in hot medium for the Walecka model. Chinese Phys Lett 13:89-92, 1996.
- Gao S, Ma F, Su R. Nucleon effective mass at finite density and a possible explanation of the EMC effect. High Energy Phys and Nucl Phys 651-657, 1996.
- Gao S, Su R, Zhang Y. The screening masses of mesons in hot medium for the Walecka model. Jour of Fudan Univ 35:25-30, 1996.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. Masses of hadrons and nucleon-nucleon interaction at finite temperature and density in a quantum hadrodynamics model. Phys Rev C52:380-391, 1995.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. Temperature and density effects on nucleon–nucleon interaction for chiral sigma-omega model. Nucl Phys A593:362-376, 1995.
- Gao S, Zhang Y, Su R. The effective mass and screening mass of rho meson for vector dominance model and vector coupling model at finite temperature and density. Jour of Phys G21:1665-1674, 1995.
- Gao S, Su R, Peter K, Yu N. Effective mass of omega meson and N-N-omega interaction at finite temperature and density. Phys Rev C49:40-45, 1994.
- Gao S, Su R, Yang S, Peter K, Yu N. Nucleon-nucleon interaction of a chiral sigma-omega model at finite temperature. Jour of Phys G20:1757-1770, 1994.
- Gao S, Li J. The statistical effect of the internal lines within the reaction process in QGP. High Energy Phys and Nucl Phys 18:229-234, 1994.
- Gao S, Su R, Zhang Y. Nuclear force for QHD-II model. Jour of Fudan 33:481-486, 1994.
- Gao S, Wang E, Li J. Soliton bag model and deconfinement phase transition. High Energy Phys and Nucl Phys 16:723-730 (in Chinese), 1992.
- Gao S, Wang E, Li J. Bag constant and deconfinement phase transition in a non-topological soliton model. Phys Rev D46:3211-3214, 1992.
- Gao S. The behavior of gamma function and Green's function in finite temperature QCD. Jour of Huazhong Normal Univ 26:289-293 (in Chinese), 1992.
- Gao S, Li J. Renormalization group equations and deconfinement in finite temperature QCD. Mod Phys Lett A6:2475-2482, 1991.
- Gao S, Li J. Coupling constant in high temperature QCD and deconfinement phase transition. High Energy Phys and Nucl Phys 15:117-122, 1991.
Manuals, Teaching Aids, Other Teaching Publications
- Gao S, Balter P. IsoCal Calibration Procedures for Varian 2100 Linacs. Procedure Instructions, MD Anderson, 2013.
- Gao S, Vassiliev O, Balter P. Procedure for OBI-CBCT System Radiation Performance Checks Using Radcal ACCU-PRO (Trademark) Radiation Measurement Systems. Procedure Instructions, MD Anderson, 2013.
Abstracts
- Juneja B, Gao S, Balter P and Nitsch P. Evaluation of the Role of Varian Machine Performance Check (MPC) in our Daily QA Routine, AAPM 2016 Washington, DC. Medical Physics 43(6):3573, 2016. PMID: 28046488.
- Pollard J, Prajapati S, Gao S, Nitsch P, Sadagopan R, Wang X and Balter P. Is the Reproducibility with Respect to Bone of Tumor Position at Simulation for Breath Hold CT Scans Correlated to the Reproducibility for Multiple Breath Hold CBCTs at Treatment in SBRT Thoracic Patients?, AAPM 2016 Washington, DC. Medical Physics 43(6):3673, 2016. PMID: 28046884.
- Court L, Brown D, Wang H, Maddox B, Aten D, MacGregor H, Chi P, Yock A, Gao S, Aristophanous M and Balter P. Training Monthly QA of Medical Accelerators: Illustrated Instructions for Self-Learning, AAPM 2016. Medical Physics 43(6):3357, 2016. PMID: 28048252.
- Zhao A, Diener T, Gao S, Greskovich J, Wilkinson D. Dosimetric Characterization of a New HDR Multi-Channel Esophageal Applicator for Brachytherapy, AAPM 2016 Washington, DC. Medical Physics 43(6):3664, 2016. PMID: 28048295.
- Gao S, Balter P, Rose M, Simon W. Qualification of a 2D Ionization Chamber Array for Beam Steering and Profile Measurement, AAPM 2015 Anaheim, California. Medical Physics 42:3484, 2015.
- Gao S, Balter P, Wang X, Sadagopan R, Pollard J. Detection of the Photon Target Damage in Varian Linac Based on Periodical Quality Assurance Measurements, AAPM 2015 Anaheim, California. Medical Physics 42:3389, 2015.
- Lewis D, Wang X, Gao S, Nitsch P, Pollard J, Sadagopan R, Balter P. A dosimetric comparison of two treatment setups for thoracic stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) patients, AAPM 2015 Anaheim, California. Medical Physics 42:3336, 2015.
- Gao S, Balter P, Rose M, Simon W. Measurement of Various Metrics to Determine Changes in Megavoltage Photon Beam Energy, AAPM 2014 Austin, Texas. Medical Physics 41:307, 2014.
- Harvey M, Pollard J, Wen Z, Gao S. Measurement of the Neutron Ambient Dose Equivalent From the TrueBeam Linac Head and Varian 2100 Clinac, AAPM 2014 Austin, Texas. Medical Physics 41:318, 2014.
- Harvey M, Pollard J, Wen Z, Gao S. Measurement of Secondary Neutrons Produced in the (gamma,n) Reaction from the TrueBeam Linac Head, AAPM 2013 Indianapolis, Indiana. Medical Physics 40:265, 2013.
- Gao S, Rose M, Simon W, Balter P. Flatness as a measure of changes in photon energy for megavoltage X-ray radiotherapy. Medical Physics 39:3769, 2012.
- Gao S, Du W, Balter P. Evaluation of IsoCal imaging isocenter calibration system for Varian OBI machines, AAPM 2012 Charlotte, North Carolina. Medical Physics 39:3604, 2012.
- Du W, Gao S, Wang X, Kudchadker R. Evaluating gantry sag on linear accelerators and introducing an MLC-based compensation strategy, AAPM 2012 Charlotte, North Carolina. Medical Physics 39:3722, 2012.
- Gao S, Balter P, Pollard J. Evaluation of a commercial QA device for daily output check for a large multi-LINAC institution. Medical Physics 38:3530, 2011.
- Gao S, Balter P, Ohrt J, Pollard J, Chung H. Quality Assurance of Enhanced Dynamic Wedge Profiles Using I'mRT MatriXX. Medical Physics 38:3527, 2011.
- Peng Y, Sadagopan R, Vedam S, Gao S, Chang J, Liao Z, Komaki R, Jeter M, Mohan R, Balter P. The Impact of Daily Tumor Shift on Normal Tissue Sparing and Dose Coverage for Breath Hold Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (BSRT) of Lung Tumor. ASTRO, 2010.
- Gao S, Chang J, Welsh J, Komaki R, Balter P. Influence of the Couch and Immobilization Device Used During Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy on Skin Dose. ASTRO, 2009.
- Welsh J, Thomas J, Wei X, Allen P, Mitchell K, Gao S, Komaki R, Chang J. Skin toxicity and Pain in patients treated with Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. Int. J. Rad. Oncol. Bio. Phys 75(S61), 2009.
- Peng Y, Vedam S, Gao S, Polf J, Sadagopan R, Balter P. Implementation of Feedback Guided Voluntary Breath Hold Gating for CBCT Based Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy. Medical Physcs 36:2654, 2009.
- Gao S, Das P, O'Daniel J, Bouchard M, Briere T, Delclos M, Krishnan S, Crane C, Beddar S. A new technique to prevent target underdosage in anal cancer IMRT. Medical Physics 35:2742-2743, 2008.
- Gao S, Wang H. Zhang L, Mohan R, Dong L. Topology Preserving Diffusion Registration Incorporation with Gradient Orientation Information. Medical Physics 34:2637, 2007.
- Gao S, Wang H. Zhang L, Zhang Y, Mohan R, Dong L. Conventional CT to cone beam CT image registration using combination of intensity and landmark-based deformable image registration methods. Medical Physics 34:2353, 2007.
- Gao S, Zhang L, Wang H, de Crevoisier R, Kuban D, Mohan R, Dong L. An image-intensity modification method to deal with non-correspondence problem in deformable image registration of the gaseous rectum. Medical Physics 33(2025), 2006.
- Gao S, Dong L, Wang H, Zhang L, Mohan R. A variational deformable image registration method capable of handling large organ deformation. Medical Physics 14:2083, 2005.
- Zhu X, Mason B, Gao S, Zhang L, O'Daniel J, Wang H, Tung S, Wong P, Garden A, Ahamad A, Blanco A, Morisson W, Rosenthal D, Ang K, Dong L. Dosimetric impact of anatomic variations for head and neck cancer patients undergoing IMRT treatment analyzed by deformable imaging registration. Medical Physics 32:2146, 2005.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Investigate the use of IC PROFILER to measure LINAC primary energy change in photon beams through flatness variation |
| Funding Source: | Sun Nuclear Corporation |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Investigate the use of WaterProof PROFILER to measure beam profiles |
| Funding Source: | Sun Nuclear Corporation |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Qualification of a 2D ionization chamber array for beam steering and profile measurement |
| Funding Source: | Sun Nuclear Corporation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified September 23, 2024