Sandun Jayarathna, Ph.D., DABR
Department of Radiation Physics, Division of Radiation Oncology
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Radiation Physics - Patient Care, Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Associate Member, Medical Physics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, MD Anderson Cancer Center and UT Health Houston, Houston, Texas
Adjunct Member, School of Health Professions, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2015 | University of Houston, Houston, Texas, US, Ph.D. in Elementary Particle Physics |
| 2013 | University of Houston, Houston, Texas, US, M.S. in Elementary Particle Physics |
| 2009 | University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, M.S. in Condensed Matter Physics |
| 2006 | University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, BS in Physics and Mathematics |
Postgraduate Training
| 2020-2022 | Clinical Residency, Medical Physics, The University of Kansas Cancer Center, Kansas City, Kansas |
| 2019-2020 | Research Engineer, Medical Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2018-2020 | Certificate Program in Medical Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2016-2019 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Medical Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2015-2016 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Bioinformatics, University of Texas Health San Antonio Mays Cancer Center, San Antonio, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2024 | American Board of Radiology |
| 2022 | Texas Medical Board |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Thoracic Physics Representative, Radiation Physics Research Retreat Organizing Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2026 - Present
Member, Ethos Deployment Workgroup, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2024 - Present
Thoracic Physics Representative, NBTXR3 for Inoperable Locoregional Recurrent NSCLC, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2023 - Present
Other Professional Positions
Research Assistant, ALICE Experiment, CERN, Geneva, 2011 - 2015
Teaching Assistant, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, 2010 - 2011
Editorial Activities
Reviewer, iScience, 2026 - Present
Reviewer, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, 2023 - Present
Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 2023 - Present
Reviewer, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research-Section A, 2023 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2014 | Travel Award, The Second Annual Large Hadron Collider Physics Conference, New York, USA |
| 2014 | Travel Award, 24th International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2014), Darmstadt, Germany |
| 2012 | Travel Award, 23rd International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (Quark Matter 2012), Washington, D.C |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2025. Design and Validation of a Custom Monte Carlo Linear Accelerator Model for Improved Dose Calculations in High-Density Regions. Invited. Radiation Physics Research Retreat. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. Monte Carlo-Based Dosimetric Evaluation of Heterogeneous Nanoparticle Distributions in Pulmonary Tissues. Radiation Physics Spring Seminar. Houston, Texas, US.
National Presentations
- 2025. Performance evaluation of an analytical simulation technique to estimate the transmitted energy spectrums in photon counting detectors for objects loaded with different Hafnium concentrations: Hybrid GEANT4 computational approach. AAPM Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C, District of Columbia, US.
- 2024. Feasibility study of a dual-energy computed tomography system to estimate different concentrations of Hafnium nanoparticle vials: a GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation study. AAPM Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, California, US.
- 2022. Clinical evaluation of dosimetric impact of applicator displacements on 3D gynecological high dose rate brachytherapy treatments. AAPM Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C, District of Columbia, US.
- 2022. Qualitative comparison of open-source toolkit for MLC trajectory log file analysis with commercially available software. AAPM MRV Chapter Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2022. Investigation of knowledge-based treatment planning models integrated with multi-Criteria Optimization for an upcoming clinical trial. AAPM Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C, District of Columbia, US.
- 2021. Clinical Evaluation of An Open-Source Toolkit for TG-142 Based Monthly Imaging Quality Assurance Via Comparison with Commercial Software. AAPM Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. A custom-made jig for in-air ionization chamber measurements and quality assurance of the Mark I-68 Cs-137 irradiator. AAPM Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2020. Effect of Photon Incidence Angle on the Accuracy of the Dose Point Kernel Method for Calculation of Gold Nanoparticle-Mediated Intracellular Dose Enhancement. AAPM Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2019. An Ionization Chamber Mounting Jig for In-Air Output Calibration and Quality Assurance of Commercial Cs-137 Irradiators. AAPM Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, US.
- 2019. Validation of Direct Gold L-Shell X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging Results Using a Tissue Mimicking Phantom Containing Gold Nanoparticles. AAPM Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, US.
- 2018. Development of a TEM Image-Based Cellular Geometry Model for Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulations of GNP-Mediated radio sensitization. AAPM Annual Meeting. Nashville, Tennessee, US.
- 2018. An Image-Based Mouse Model for Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulations of Multimodal Imaging with Benchtop X-Ray Fluorescence CT (XFCT) and Micro-CT. AAPM Annual Meeting. Nashville, Tennessee, US.
- 2017. Application of the Dose Point Kernel Method for Nanoscale Dose Calculations Around Gold Nanoparticles. AAPM Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado, US.
- 2014. Strange Baryon vs Meson Ratio in Proton-Proton Collisions at ALICE Using Azimuthal Correlations. APS April Meeting. Savannah, Georgia, US.
- 2014. Jet-Hadron Azimuthal Correlations in Proton Collisions at ALICE at √(S_NN ) = 7 TeV. Large Hadron Collider Physics (LHCP) Conference. New York City, New York, US.
International Presentations
- 2026. Feasibility of Collapsed Cone Convolution Dose Calculation Algorithm for Nanoparticle-Enhanced Radiotherapy: A Comparison with GEANT4 Monte Carlo Simulations. Joint AAPM | COMP Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada.
- 2014. Strange Quark Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at 7 TeV in ALICE Using Azimuthal Correlations. The 24th International Conference on Ultrarelativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, Darmstadt, Germany.
- 2013. Strangness Production in Proton-Proton Vs Heavy Ion Collisions, ALICE User Meeting, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 2012. GEANT4 Simulation Update in VHMPID for ALICE, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.
- 2012. PYTHIA Monte Carlo Simulation Update for Strange-Hadron Correlations in 7Tev Proton-Proton Collisions, ALICE User Meeting, Puebla, Mexico.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - Present |
| Title: | Near First-principles Cell-level Radiobiological Outcome Modeling of Metal Nanoparticle (MNP)-mediated Radiosensitization (Pending Review) |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2025 - Present |
| Title: | Multimodal multiplexed in vivo imaging using metal nanoparticles and a benchtop x-ray fluorescence CT system with transmission CT capability (Pending Review) |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2021 - 2026 |
| Title: | Rational translation of gold nanoparticle mediated radiosensitization to the cllinc |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Significant Contributor |
| ID: | R01CA257241-01 |
| Date: | 2016 - 2022 |
| Title: | Towards in vivo imaging with benchtop x-ray fluorescence computed tomography |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NIBIB |
| Role: | Significant Contributor |
| ID: | R01EB020658 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Nepal, N, Jayarathna S, Cho SH. Monte carlo study of detection limit for gold nanoparticles within small animal sized object during benchtop X-ray fluorescence computed tomography. Nature Scientific Reports, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
- Kaphle A, Jayarathna S, Krishnan S, Cho SH. Monte Carlo study of gold nanoparticle-mediated radiosensitization effects using nanoscale cell model combined with fractal-based DNA model. Medical Physics 52(6):4605-4620, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39928029.
- Nepal N, Kaphle A, Jayarathna S, Cho SH. Monte Carlo Modeling of An Experimental Benchtop L-shell X-ray Fluorescence Imaging/CT System Adopting Two Silicone Drift Detectors. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 1072, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40894265.
- Kaphle A, Jayarathna S, Cho SH. Deep learning based rapid X-ray fluorescence signal extraction and image reconstruction for preclinical benchtop X-ray fluorescence computed tomography applications. Nature Scientific Reports 15(1), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40467695.
- Jayarathna S, Kaphle A, Krishnan S, Cho SH. Nanoscale gold nanoparticle (GNP)-laden tumor cell model and its use for estimation of intracellular dose from GNP-induced secondary electrons. Medical Physics 51(9):6276-6291, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38935922.
- Jayarathna S, Shen X, Chen RC, Li HH, Guida K. The effect of integrating knowledge-based planning with multicriteria optimization in treatment planning for prostate SBRT. Journal of Applied Clininical Medical Physics 24(6), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36827178.
- Jayarathna S, Hoang M, Badkul R, Hoover A. Dosimetric impact of applicator displacement on three-dimensional image-guided high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatments for cervical cancer. Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy 15(5):334-343, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38026073.
- Kaphle A, Jayarathna S, Moktan H, Aliru M, Raghuram S, Krishnan S, Cho SH. Deep Learning-Based TEM Image Analysis for Fully Automated Detection of Gold Nanoparticles Internalized Within Tumor Cell. Microscopy and Microanalysis 29(4):1474-1487, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37488822.
- Jayarathna S, Moktan H, Cho SH. Use of the Fully Spectroscopic Pixelated Cadmium Telluride Detector for Benchtop X-Ray Fluorescence Computed Tomography. IEEE Access 10:105074-105083, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36274671.
- Moktan H, Jayarathna S, Cho SH. Sensitivity enhancement of an experimental benchtop x-ray fluorescence imaging system by deploying a single crystal cadmium telluride detector system optimized for high flux x-ray operations. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 1025, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35340930.
- Jayarathna S, Ahmed MF, O'Ryan L, Moktan H, Cui Y, Cho SH. Characterization of a Pixelated Cadmium Telluride Detector System Using a Polychromatic X-Ray Source and Gold Nanoparticle-Loaded Phantoms for Benchtop X-Ray Fluorescence Imaging. IEEE Access 9:49912-49919, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33996343.
- Moktan H, Ahmed MF, Jayarathna S, Deng L, Cho SH. Monte Carlo study of x-ray detection configurations for benchtop x-ray fluorescence computed tomography of gold nanoparticle-loaded objects. Phys Med Biol 65(17):175010, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32869750.
- Jayarathna S, Ahmed, Md, Cho, SH. Geant4-based Model of a Mouse Injected with Gold Nanoparticles for X-Ray Tomography Simulation Studies. IEEE NANOMED, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Jayarathna S, Ahmed Md, Cho SH. Fabrication and Testing of a Gold Nanoparticle-loaded Tissue-mimicking Phantom for Validation of Gold L -shell X-ray Fluorescence Imaging Results. IEEE NANOMED, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Manohar N, Reynoso F, Jayarathna S, Moktan H, Ahmed MF, Diagaradjane P, Krishnan S, Cho SH. High-sensitivity imaging and quantification of intratumoral distributions of gold nanoparticles using a benchtop x-ray fluorescence imaging system. Opt Lett 44(21):5314-5317, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31674996.
- Deng L, Ahmed MF, Jayarathna S, Feng P, Wei B, Cho SH. A detector's eye view (DEV)-based OSEM algorithm for benchtop x-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) image reconstruction. Phys Med Biol 64(8):08NT02, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30958796.
- Jayarathna S, Manohar N, Ahmed MF, Krishnan S, Cho SH. Evaluation of dose point kernel rescaling methods for nanoscale dose estimation around gold nanoparticles using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. Sci Rep 9(1):3583, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30837578.
- Jayarathna S. Strangeness production in two-particle azimuthal correlations on the near and away side measured with ALICE in pp collisions at 7 TeV. Large Hadron Collider Physics, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Wijesundera D, Jayarathna S, Bellwied R, Chu WK. A simulation study of antimatter-helium ion planar channeling in silicon. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, 2012. e-Pub 2012.
Other Articles
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Enhanced production of multi-strange hadrons in high-multiplicity proton–proton collisions. Nature Physics, 2017.
- VHMPID Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S R&D on high momentum particle identification with a pressurized Cherenkov radiator. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, 2014.
- VHMPID Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S A very high momentum particle identification detector. The European Physical Journal Plus, 2014.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Multiplicity dependence of pion, kaon, proton and lambda production in p–Pb collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁=5.02 TeV. Physics Letters B, 2014.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Centrality dependence of 𝜋, 𝐾, and 𝑝 production in Pb-Pb collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁=2.76 TeV. Physical Review C-Nuclear Physics, 2013.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Centrality determination of Pb-Pb collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁=2.76 TeV with ALICE. Physical Review C, 2013.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Charged-particle multiplicity measurement in proton–proton collisions at √𝑠 = 7 TeV with ALICE at LHC. The European Physical Journal C, 2013.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Long-range angular correlations on the near and away side in p–Pb collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁=5.02 TeV. Physics Letters B, 2012.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions √𝑠𝑁𝑁=2.76 TeV. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2012.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb–Pb collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁 =2.76 TeV. Physics Letters B, 2011.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Strange particle production in proton–proton collisions at with ALICE at the LHC: The ALICE Collaboration. The European Physical Journal C, 2011.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Centrality Dependence of the Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Pb-Pb Collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁=2.76 TeV. Physical review letters, 2011.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Higher Harmonic Anisotropic Flow Measurements of Charged Particles in Pb-Pb Collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁 =2.76 TeV. Physical Review Letters, 2011.
- ALICE Collaboration-CERN, Jayarathna S Elliptic Flow of Charged Particles in Pb-Pb Collisions at √𝑠𝑁𝑁 =2.76 TeV. Physical review letters, 2010.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026