Jake Reid
Bio
Jake is a master’s student in Medical Radiation Physics at McGill University. He is from Caledon, Ontario and completed an undergraduate degree in Engineering Physics sub-discipline Mechanical at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. In his spare time he loves to play indoor and outdoor sports, especially hockey, play guitar with friends, go to dance classes and meet new people. His favourite colour is blue and his favourite food is just any sour candy especially the sour keys from Costco. His favourite place to spend time is at his cottage in Muskoka, Ontario where he does many water sports, cliff jumping and playing on lily pads. An interesting fact about him is that he has danced since he was eight years old, starting with tap dancing and eventually performing in recitals doing all different styles of dance such as ballet, contemporary and jazz.
Current Projects
Investigation of the dosimetric performance and production of a selenium-75 brachytherapy source
Selenium-75 is a gamma-emitting radioisotope currently used in industrial gamma radiography. With an average spectral energy of 210 keV, it offers potential as an alternative isotope to iridium-192 for high dose-rate brachytherapy, which has a higher average spectral energy of 380 keV. A lower average gamma energy offers potential for reduced shielding requirements for brachytherapy suites, and more effective shielding of healthy tissue for intensity modulated brachytherapy. I am currently comparing the dosimetry of iridium-192 and selenium-75 for both conventional and intensity-modulated rectal brachytherapy using Monte Carlo simulations in RapidBrachyMCPTS. I am also planning to manufacture a prototype selenium-75 source at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor in Hamilton, Ontario, and will perform measurements to characterize the achievable activity, photon spectrum, and dose distribution from the source.