Meet the team (radiotherapy physics)
The radiotherapy physics team is made up of 52.8 WTE (whole time equivalent) staff. Our team includes clinical scientists (medical physicists), clinical technologists (engineering), dosimetrists (clinical technologists and radiographers), computer scientist, software engineer, assistant and is supported by administrative staff.Radiotherapy physics senior team
Rachel BarlowHead of radiotherapy physics
MIPEM, MSc, BA(Hons)
After studying physics at Oxford University, Rachel joined the Royal Free Hospital in London to train as a medical physicist and complete her Masters in radiation science.
Rachel started working in the field of radiotherapy in 2001. She is a consultant clinical scientist and supports the operational and strategic leadership of the team. Rachel drives forward technical development and commissioning projects and acts as a medical physics expert across planning, QA and brachytherapy. She has a special interest in surface guided radiotherapy and is leading several projects within this field.
Email rachel.barlow@uhs.nhs.uk or call 023 8120 6889.
The radiotherapy physics group is made up of five subgroups:
Brachytherapy
Aaron HuckleHead of brachytherapy physics
Aaron is a principal clinical scientist and MPE specialising in brachytherapy treatments, leading a small team of scientists and dosimetrist to provide highly specialist scientific and technical services to cancer care.
Aaron has experience leading professional body groups, and previously chaired the IPEM CPD panel which audits CPD submissions on behalf of the Register of Clinical Technologists (RCT), Engineering Council, and Science Council. He currently is involved with Science Council registration assessments and CPD auditing. Aaron is also involved with supervising STP trainees.
Alongside the clinical work, Aaron is studying on the Higher Scientific Training Scheme (HSST) and is currently researching the application and integration of electromagnetic tracking to improve the accuracy and reliability of brachytherapy treatments. Previous research has included work with the microMOSFETs for in-vivo dosimetry to validate the accuracy of treatment delivery in brachytherapy treatments.
Email aaron.huckle@uhs.nhs.uk or call 023 8120 6110.
External beam treatment planning
Iulianna CraciunHead of external beam treatment planning
Iulianna is a principal clinical scientist with over 25 years of experience in radiotherapy. As the head of external beam treatment planning, she combines clinical expertise and technical proficiency to ensure high-quality patient care. As a medical physics expert (MPE), she provides expert guidance and recommendations in treatment planning and oversees the integration of new treatment planning techniques and protocols into clinical practice.
Email iulianna.craciun@uhs.nhs.uk or call 023 8120 8503.
QA and dosimetry
Nael KhaterHead of QA and dosimetry
Nael is a principal clinical Scientist and head of QA and dosimetry in radiotherapy physics. He is acting as medical physics Expert (MPE) in QA and dosimetry. He has over 20 years of experience in QA and dosimetry during which he was involve in leading the commissioning of multi new linear accelerators. He directs and manages the resources of the QA/dosimetry team to deliver clinical, scientific, advisory, educational and research and development capacity and services to cancer care.
The QA and dosimetry service maintains the safe delivery of radiation treatment to the patient by completing the routine periodically machine testing, breakdown QA and the accuracy of the measuring devices, another important part of this role is the commissioning of the new linear accelerator and new QA devices.
Email nael.khater@uhs.nhs.uk or call 023 8120 3436.
Radiotherapy scientific computing
Virgiliu CraciunHead of radiotherapy scientific computing
Virgiliu is a principal clinical scientist, with an extensive background in clinical radiotherapy physics and scientific computing, and he acts as a medical physics expert (MPE). He has a keen interest in clinical pathway and workflows digital automation and in-house software applications development within a bespoke software quality management system. His focus is on high performance computing on GPU and heterogeneous systems for RT physics, automatic RT treatment plan verification and validation (including AI), and clinical risk management for health IT systems.
Email virgiliu.craciun@uhs.nhs.uk or call 023 8120 8769.
Radiotherapy electronics
Andrew NightingaleHead of radiotherapy electronics
Andrew is the lead clinical technologist in radiotherapy electronics. He has worked within radiotherapy since 2008, and trained at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where he graduated with a BEng in electronics engineering and won the award for highest placed student in the graduating cohort. In 2017 he moved to North Hampshire Hospitals as their lead engineer and then on to University Hospital Southampton in 2019.
In his free time, Andrew competes both nationally and internationally in target archery, with his best results being silver and bronze medals in the European Masters Games in 2023.