Global Health

1. IMPACTO Colombia, 2026: Interactive Medical Physics Advancement in Clinical Training and Oncology

The IMPACTO-Colombia program is designed as an advanced professional development experience focused on active learning, clinical reasoning, and collaborative discussion. Participants are expected to engage consistently with both asynchronous and synchronous components of the course in order to maximize learning outcomes and successfully complete the program requirements. IMPACTO-Colombia is a joint initiative between ACOFIMED (Colombian Association of Medical Physics) and the International Council of the AAPM (American Association of Physicists in Medicine).

Drs. Jennifer Smilowitz, Wes Culberson, Lindsay Zammit, Autumn Walter-Denzin and Ash Kahn are all involved in this initiative – facilitating  or moderating interactive sessions.

2. AAPM International Council Associates Mentorship Program Mentorship Award

Elissa Khoudary – Recipient of highly competitive AAPM International Council Associates Mentorship Program Mentorship Award (ICAMP.) The program pairs a small cohort of mentees with senior AAPM mentors and engages them in projects aligned with international priorities in the field.

3. GlobalMedPhys.com

Radiate Knowledge (globalmedphys.com) is a global medical physics resource hub with learning and research resources and information for students interested in a career in medical physics (including undergraduate opportunities). The platform provides information on global organizations, upcoming events, international curriculum and more!  The website was launched in September 2025 by Dr. Shannon O’Reilly, and as of May 2026 has been viewed in over 100 countries (including 27 LIC/LMICs).

4. IAEA Practical Agreement

• Exchange and dissemination of unclassified information, experience and best practices in the area of radiation medicine 
• Cooperation in development of technical documents and educational materials in the area of radiation medicine
• Cooperation in research, educational infrastructure, quality assurance activities to support IAEA’s flagship initiatives: Rays of Hope Anchor Centres, Atoms4Food, ZODIAC.
• Cooperation in activities related to dosimetry and calibration, together with the UW Medical Radiation Research Center – Radiation Calibration Laboratory 
• Cooperation in activities related to Doubly Labelled Water (DLS) and labeled retinol analysis.

Drs. Zachary Morris, Jennifer Smilowitz, Wes Culberson, and Sherry Tanumihardjo

5. University of Costa Rica

Guest lecture and collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Smilowitz and Costa Rican Medical Physicists: Dr. Mariela Porras (UW Medical Physics Graduate) and Dr. Eric Morales.

6. African School of Physics

The 9th African School of Fundamental Physics and Applications (ASP2026) will take place from July 5–19, 2026, at the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya. ASP brings together students and educators from across Africa and around the world to advance education, collaboration, and capacity building in physics.   Dr. O’Reilly is collaborating with AAPM GEOSC and ICAMP (with Drs. Kaelyn Becker, Kelly Kisling and Chris Njeh) to develop a hands-on workshop introducing ASP students to key concepts in medical physics, in addition to contributing instructional lectures during the program. There is a global shortage of medical physicists, and this outreach initiative aims to expand the medical physics pipeline.

7. Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) Future Collaboration

Department of Radiation Medicine, Hematology & Nuclear Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia) Future Collaboration led by Dr. Quaovi Sodji.

8. AAPM Global Medical Physics Education and Training Committee

AAPM GMPETC promotes global medical physics education and training through the development and implementation of courses, workshops, and distance-learning initiatives, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Through its subcommittees, the committee supports both global course development and educational outreach, working collaboratively with other international organizations and International Council committees to expand access to high-quality education and foster international partnerships. Dr. Shannon O’Reilly is the vice-chair of GMPETC.

9. Cancer Care Across Cultures

Cancer Care Across Cultures is a 3-week course taking UW students from Madison to Copenhagen to explore global oncology, visit Danish cancer centers, and examine cancer care across health systems.  The course begins with lectures at UW, one of which was provided by Dr. Shannon O’Reilly on “Building Capacity in Global Oncology Workforce and Education.” Winter 2025 marked the launch of the course, with an inaugural cohort of 20 students.  The global oncology team is looking at expanding course offerings to other locations in the future.

10. Global Oncology Program – UW Carbone Cancer Center

The Global Oncology Program advances equitable cancer care in low- and middle-income countries through research, education, outreach, capacity building, technological innovations, and sustained international collaboration.

11. UW CCC Seed Grant for public education for Cervical Cancer prevention

Dr. Shannon O’Reilly was awarded the 2025 UWCCC Global Oncology Pilot Grant to support the project “Bridging Health Policy, Prevention and Cancer Care Access in Ghana through Education.”  This initiative is aimed at advancing cancer education and prevention in Ghana focusing on developing culturally relevant educational materials to promote cancer awareness, HPV vaccination, and early detection. In collaboration with local communities, the project emphasizes sustainable, community-informed strategies to maximize impact and identify effective channels for educational outreach and distribution.  She is collaborating with Dr. David Pate, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Human Ecology, Dr. Stephen Avery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Dr. Princess Ruhama Acheampong, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Department of Public Health.

12. Collaboration with Rayos Contra Cancer

Dr. Dustin Jacqmin led the development and delivery of a webinar series in collaboration with Rayos Contra Cancer as part of the Working Group on Treatment Planning in 2024. The audience was medical physicists and some radiation oncologists in North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt). The topic of the webinar series was Treatment Plan Evaluation.  This project was highlighted as a finalist in the 2025 AAPM Arthur Boyer Award for Innovation in Medical Physics Education.