I am Dr Amanda Caissie, MD, PhD, FRCPC, and I am honoured to be the associate professor and head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. I completed my medical school training at Queen’s University, Ontario, in 2007, and a radiation oncology residency at the University of Toronto in 2012. I earned my PhD from McGill University, Montreal, in 2005.

My current research is focused on patient-reported outcomes and big data in the context of research and value-based healthcare. I co-founded and co-lead the Canadian Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in Radiotherapy Alliance and I serve as chair of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology quality & standards committee.

My career has been shaped through collaboration with a diverse group of professionals, including radiation oncologists, medical physicists and radiation therapists, and through membership of various international quality committees. As an international liaison member of ESTRO’s radiation oncology safety and quality committee (ROSQC), I value the multi-disciplinary nature of the committee and its work to drive quality improvement efforts forward for radiotherapy communities around the world.

I have contributed to the Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy’s guidance on key quality indicators (KQIs) and appreciate the collaborative effort that is involved in the drafting of ESTRO’s suite of KQIs, including work with the national societies and ROSQC. I am passionate about data standardisation across various areas, from cybersecurity to patient outcome measurements.

As a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine’s multi-disciplinary, multinational big-data subcommittee, I see tremendous opportunities for ROSQC to promote the uptake of the recently published data standard, Operational Ontology for Oncology (O3). This important international standard is the result of collaborative efforts among various professional societies, including ESTRO.

I believe that there are tremendous opportunities for collaboration across international radiotherapy professional societies. I am grateful to ESTRO for the recognition and inclusivity of membership and look forward to contributing to our shared goals.

Dr Amanda Caissie MD, PhD, FRCPC

Associate professor and head of the Department of Radiation Oncology

Dalhousie University

Canada