Dan Nguyen

Dan Nguyen, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he is part of the Division of Medical Physics and Engineering. He is a founding member of the Medical Artificial Intelligence and Automation (MAIA) Laboratory, collaborating closely with Dr. Steve Jiang to advance AI applications in radiotherapy. His work focuses on deep learning for treatment planning, dose prediction, auto-segmentation, and adaptive radiotherapy.

• Ph.D. in Biomedical Physics, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2017
• Mentor: Dr. Ke Sheng
• Faculty appointment at UT Southwestern since 2017

Dr. Nguyen’s research is centered on applying artificial intelligence to solve critical challenges in radiation oncology. His primary interests include deep learning-based dose prediction, auto-segmentation of anatomical structures, optimization of treatment plans, and real-time adaptive radiotherapy. He has pioneered work in direct aperture optimization, 4π radiotherapy, and uncertainty quantification in AI models. His research bridges the gap between AI innovation and clinical implementation, with a focus on improving plan quality, reducing planning time, and enhancing accessibility for less experienced clinicians.

The most recent publications (2023–2025) demonstrate a consistent trend in developing fast, accurate, and robust deep learning models for radiotherapy. Key themes include dose prediction with transfer and meta-learning, adaptive segmentation using test-time optimization, uncertainty assessment in AI predictions, and mathematical modeling of radiotherapy-immunotherapy synergy. These works span high-impact journals in medical physics, AI, and oncology, reflecting interdisciplinary innovation.

While no specific scientific awards are listed, Dr. Nguyen’s leadership in the MAIA Lab and extensive publication record in top-tier journals indicate significant recognition in the field of medical physics and AI in medicine.

Dr. Nguyen has co-authored numerous studies involving mentoring and collaborative research, particularly with trainees and junior faculty in the MAIA Lab. His work is supported by institutional and likely federal funding, given the scale and scope of AI deployment studies. He has contributed to large-scale collaborative efforts such as OpenKBP-Opt, involving international teams evaluating knowledge-based planning pipelines.

The MAIA Laboratory is a multi-investigator research group focused on innovating, developing, and applying artificial intelligence technologies to empower clinicians—especially those with less experience or limited resources—for improved patient care. The lab’s work spans machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, and mathematical modeling in radiation oncology.