Deborah L Schofield, Ph.D., FAAPM
Department of Radiation Physics, Division of Radiation Oncology
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2021 | Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, Ph.D. in Health Science |
| 2000 | East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, US, M.S. in Applied Physics |
| 1998 | University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, US, BS in Physics |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2022 | Medical Physicist (Texas) |
| 2010 | Therapeutic Radiological Physicist (FL) |
| 2009 | American Board of Radiology/Therapeutic Medical Physics |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Associate in Research, Department of Electrical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2000 - 2004
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Associate Patient Safety Quality Officer, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Radiation Oncology Quality and Safety Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - Present
Chair, Radiation Oncology Quality and Safety Subcommittee, AdventHealth, 2021 - 2022
Member, Radiation Safety Committee, AdventHealth, 2021 - 2022
Member, Radiation Safety Committee, Saint Vincent Hospital, 2017 - 2018
Member, Continuous Quality Improvement Committee, Saint Vincent Hospital, 2016 - 2018
Chair, Treatment Planning Subcommittee, Dana Farber / Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2008 - 2010
Honors & Awards
| 2022 | Fellow, American Association of Physicists in Medicine |
| 2021 | Alpha Eta Honor Society, National Society of Allied Health Professionals |
| 2018 | Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society |
| 2011 | Elekta Award of Excellence for an Outstanding Radiation Oncology Physics Article, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Regional Presentations
- 2024. Don't get Burned: Understanding and Combating Burnout. Invited. Rocky Mountain AAPM. Colorado Springs, CO, US.
- 2023. Reducing Risk by Improving the Physics Plan Check Process. Invited. Southwest AAPM, US.
- 2019. Medical errors. Invited. Florida AAPM, US.
- 2017. TG-275 Update: The past, present and future of physics plan checks. Conference. New England AAPM Meeting, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Evaluating the Performance and Limitations of an Automated Treatment Planning Tool for Intact Breast Radiotherapy Across Diverse Patient Populations. Conference. Washington, DC, US.
- 2025. DECT for the Photon Clinic: Advantages and Worflow. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2024. Supporting Resilience and Wellbeing of Medical Physicists. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA, US.
- 2024. Making Lemonade from Lemons: Using Event Learning to Build Stronger Systems. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA, US.
- 2024. Task Group Group Chat. Invited. AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting. St Louis, Missouri, US.
- 2021. The Ghost in the Shell: Understanding How AI Can Improve Adaptive Radiation Therapy Workflows. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2021. The Toll of the Job: Burnout and the Medical Physicist. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2021. Burnout and the Medical Physicist. Invited. SROA Annual Meeting, US.
- 2020. GYN Brachytherapy Applicators. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2017. Review of Current Trends in the Physics Chart Check Process: Results from the TG-275 Survey of Practices. Invited. AAPM Spring Clinical Meeting, US.
- 2017. Best Practices for Physics Plan and Chart Review: Report of AAPM Task Group 275. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2012. The Safe Implementation of Stereotactic Radiosurgery in the Community Hospital Setting. Invited. AAMD Annual Meeting, US.
- 2010. Head and Neck IMRT and Rapid Arc. Invited. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2009. Head and Neck IMRT: From Simulation to Treatment. Invited. AAMD National Meeting, US.
- 2009. Reduction of Larynx Dose in Head and Neck IMRT: A Restricted Field Approach. Conference. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
- 2006. Experimental Evaluation of the Accuracy of Contralateral Lung Dose Calculations for IMRT Plans. Conference. AAPM Annual Meeting, US.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Jimenez RB, Abdou Y, Anderson P, Barry P, Bradfield L, Bradley JA, Heras LD, Khan A, Matsen C, Montero A, Rabinovitch R, Reyna C, Salerno KE, Schellhorn SE, Schofield D, Taparra K, Washington I, Wright JL, Zeidan YH, Zellars RC, Horst KC. Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy: An ASTRO/ASCO/SSO Clinical Practice Guideline. Practical Radiation Oncology 15:549-571, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Schofield, D, Chevalier, CL, Court, LE, Harmsen, WS, Turner, A. The Burden of Burnout. Journal of applied clinical medical physics 26(6), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40392685.
- Baroudi, H, Che Fru, L, Schofield, D, Roniger, D, Nguyen, C, Hancock, D, Chung, C, Beadle, B, Gifford, K, Netherton, T, Niedzielski, J, Melancon, A, Muruganandham, M, Khan, M, Shaitelman, S, Shete, S, Murina, P, Venencia, D, Thengumpallil, S, Vrieling, C, Zhang, J, Mitchell , M, Court, L. An Automated Treatment Planning Portfolio for Whole Breast Radiotherapy. Medical Physics 52(3):1779-1788, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39699058.
- Johnson PB, Schubert L, Kim G, Faught J, Buckey C, Conroy L, Luk S, Schofield D, Parker S. AAPM WGPE report 394: Simulated Error Training for the Physics Plan and Chart Review. Medical Physics 51(5):8, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Schofield DL, Conroy, L, Harmsen, W, Johnson, JL, Wells, MC, Dong, L, Fong de los Santon, LE. AAPM Task Group Report 275.S: Survey Strategy and Results on Plan Review and Chart Check Practices in US and Canada. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 24(4), 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Xia, P, Sintay, BJ, Colussi, VC, Chuang, C, Lo, Y, Schofield, D, Wells, M, Zhou, S. Medical Physics Practice Parameter (MPPG) 11.a: Plan and Chart Review in External Beam Radiotherapy and Brachytherapy. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics 22(9):4-19, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- Ford, E, Conroy, L, Dong, L, Fong de los Santos, L, Greener, A, Kim, G, Johnson, J, Johnson, P, Mechalakos, J, Napolitano, B, Parker, S, Schofield, D, Smith, K, Yorke, E, Wells, M. Strategies for Effective Physics Plan And Chart Review in Radiation Therapy: Report of AAPM Task Group 275. Medical Physics 47(6):e236-e272, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Viscariello, N, Evans, S, Parker, S, Schofield, D, Miller, B, Gardner, S, los Santos FD, L, Hallemeier, C, Jordan, L, Kim, E, Ford &, E. A Multi-Institutional Assessment of COVID-19 Related Risk in Radiation Oncology. Radiotherapy & Oncology:153, 296-302, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
Abstracts
- Collins, Hu, Schofield DL. Statistical Signal Processing for UXO Discrimination: Performance Results for Isolated and Overlapping Objects.
- Nelson, Schofield, Collins. A Comparison of Neural Networks and Subspace Detectors for the Discrimination of Low-Metal-Content Landmines.
- Collins, Schofield, Hu. Separation of Overlapping Signatures in EMI Data.
Book Chapters
- Schofield DL, Simiele S, Sohn J, Wong J, Gifford KA. The Role of Gas-Filled Detectors in Brachytherapy. In: Radiation detectors and methods in medicine - therapy, diagnostic, and radiation protection. Springer.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified November 05, 2025