Radiation Oncology Physics Residency - Program Faculty
Michelle Wells, M.S., DABR - Program Director
Contact: Michelle.Wells@piedmont.org
Michelle Wells, M.S, DABR joined Piedmont Healthcare in 2003. As Lead Physicist, Michelle is responsible for the technical operations and staffing of a Gamma Knife unit and several radiation oncology centers, whose offerings cover a majority of current patient treatment options. She has supervised the technical installation of linear accelerators and managed their start up to a successful outcome. Her experience in program implementation includes RapidArc, IMRT, brachytherapy, stereotactic, and 3D external beam treatments. She has personally planned hundreds of patient treatments. Michelle is the Radiation Oncology Physics Residency program director and assists in the teaching of residents.
Michelle is passionate about continuous process improvement to advance patient outcomes and to increase the technical expertise of staff. Michelle is an active member of the Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), currently serving on the Board of Directors. She is a Past President of the SEAAPM AAPM Chapter.
A native of Latta, South Carolina, Michelle graduated from Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina with a dual bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics. As a Presidential Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology, she earned a Master of Science degree in Health Physics. Michelle is board certified in both Therapeutic Medical Physics and Diagnostic Radiological Physics by The American Board of Radiology and participates in their Maintenance of Certification program.
Michelle and her husband (William) love attending theater, watching football, and traveling. Michelle is an avid reader and community volunteer. She spends her spare time exercising and outdoors in her garden.
Luis Vazquez, PhD, DABR
Contact: Luis.VazquezQuino@piedmont.org
Luis Vazquez received his PhD in Medical Physics degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2012. From 2012 to 2015 he joined Alyzen Medical Physics (Formerly Mid-South Radiation Physics) as a Clinical Medical Physics consultant and part of the linear accelerator Commissioning team. From 2015 to 2019 he joined Baylor Scott and White Health Medical Physicist team and served also as a Clinical Assistant professor at Texas A&M and faculty for the Medical Physics residency at BSWH.
In 2019 he joined Piedmont Health Care at Henry Stockbridge location as a Clinical Medical Physicist and in 2020 he joined the Medical Physics residency faculty.
Luis is an active member of the American Association of Physicist in Medicine (AAPM) working on the Medical Physics Leadership Progress Assessment Subcommittee and the Professional Mentorship Working Group. His main interests in Medical Physics are but not limited to new technologies and methods in Medical Physics, Linear Accelerator Commissioning, novel IMRT and VMAT patient specific Quality Assurance methods, SRS-SBRT techniques, Monte Carlo dose calculations.
Carl Weaver, M.S., DABR
Contact: Carl.Weaver@piedmont.org
Carl Weaver, M.S, DABR joined Piedmont Healthcare in 2011. As a staff physicist, Carl is responsible for the clinical prostate brachytherapy physics program at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. He serves as one of the Gamma Knife radiosurgery physicists, and oversees a variety of SRS and SBRT treatments as well as treatment planning for these various treatment methods. He has personally planned hundreds of patient special procedures.
Carl’s interests in clinical medical physics intersect with his passion for quality and safety. This has brought him to an interest in creating enhancements for SBRT motion management at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. Quality improvement in the area of SRS/SBRT is a goal of his. He has studied the literature for event reporting and created presentations for the radiation oncology department for how to avoid reproducing the specific errors that have been reported.
A native of Indianapolis, Carl graduated from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana with a dual bachelor’s degree in physics and secondary education. For six years post-graduation Carl served as a physics teacher in Fulton County Schools in the Atlanta area, in which Carl’s personal interest in physics grew. During the subsequent years Carl studied medical physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and obtained a Master of Science in Medical Physics. Carl is board certified in Therapeutic Medical Physics by the American Board of Radiology and participates in the Maintenance of Certification.
Carl and his family enjoy playing games and hiking together. He spends his free time reading, cycling, and studying physics and astronomy for fun.