Hanna Moussa

Hanna Moussa is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas Tech University and a member of the STEM CORE interdisciplinary research center. Her academic appointment bridges engineering and medical physics, with a focus on radiation applications in healthcare and space environments.

Her educational background includes:

• B.S. and M.S. in Physics from University of Massachusetts at Lowell
• Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering with Radiological Engineering concentration from University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Dr. Moussa's research centers on Medical and Health Physics, leveraging over 20 years of expertise with Monte Carlo Radiation Transport Codes (MCNP4B-6, MCNPX) to model radiation interactions with biological tissues. Key application areas include radiation dosimetry (dose, exposure, LET), shielding design, cancer risk assessment, and space radiation. She investigates heavy ion beam fragmentation effects during radiation therapy and low-dose mammogram impacts on breast tissue. A significant innovation is her development of AdipoGauge software for quantitative analysis of microscopic biological images using Java and MATLAB, enabling measurement of physical changes in concentration, growth rates, and cancer cell proliferation.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals two dominant research trajectories: (1) Radiation physics applications in medical dosimetry (particularly breast tissue exposure) and space environments, and (2) Obesity-metabolism research examining nutritional interventions (fish oil, curcumin, vitamin D) on adipose tissue inflammation, metabolic disorders, and breast cancer progression. Renewable energy studies (wind/solar prediction and assessment) form a secondary but persistent theme.

No scientific awards were documented in the provided materials.

While student advising details were not specified, her research program demonstrates active grant-funded work across radiation physics, biomedical imaging, and metabolic health, with collaborations spanning medical, engineering, and computational domains.

Dr. Moussa operates within Texas Tech's STEM CORE ecosystem, which facilitates interdisciplinary projects through its virtual lab repository and faculty development initiatives. Her AdipoGauge software represents a core technical contribution, enabling quantitative image analysis for nutrition, biology, and cancer research teams. Current projects include radiation therapy optimization, mammogram dose assessment, and obesity-related metabolic studies using murine models.