The UF Medical Physics Graduate Program is excited to announce that we have established the McKetty/Butler Diagnostic Medical Physics Assistantship for Women in honor of our esteemed alumni: Marlene H P McKetty, PhD and Priscilla F Butler, MS. Dr McKetty graduated from the program with a MS in 1975 and a PhD in 1978. She most recently served as the Chief Physicist and Assistant Professor at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, before her subsequent retirement. Priscilla “Penny” Butler graduated from the program with a MS in 1976. She most recently served as the Senior Director and Medical Physicist at the American College of Radiology in Reston, Virginia, before her subsequent retirement. In addition to their stellar educational, clinical, and research contributions to the field of Diagnostic Medical Physics, Dr McKetty and Ms Butler have paved the way for women, including women of color, in Medical Physics.
The McKetty/Butler Diagnostic Medical Physics Assistantship for Women will be an annual assistantship that is awarded to an incoming female PhD student. In 2021, the assistantship has been awarded to Zahra Sadat Mojabi, who will begin the program in Fall 2021. Ms Mojabi was awarded a BS in Physics from Shahid Beheshti University and a MS in Medical Physics from Tehran University, both in Tehran, Iran. She is currently completing a MS in Medical Physics from Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland and is expected to graduate in July 2021. At OHSU, Zahra (who has been trained by our outstanding alumni Drs Griglock, DeWees and Mench) has participated in research that involves the assessment of image quality parameters of a PET scanner with 3 rings in comparison to a PET scanner with 5 rings. Please join us in welcoming Ms Mojabi to the Medical Physics Gator Nation!
During these unprecedented times, we strive to make positive changes in our program, and in the lives of our students, residents, and faculty. The establishment of the McKetty/Butler Diagnostic Medical Physics Assistantship for Women is one of those changes. We look forward to continuing our support of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).