Gold Medal and Early Career awards
GOLD Medal and Early Career awards have been presented to IPEM members who have made outstanding contributions in their field of work.
These awards are for IPEM members who have made outstanding contributions in academia, innovation and healthcare, and in recognition of the achievements of early career members.
Academic Gold Medal
Professor Indra Das is Vice Chair, Professor and Director of Medical Physics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
An IPEM Fellow, Professor Das is an internationally known medical physicist with a track record of sustained presence in clinical areas, teaching, service and research. He has contributed to every area of radiation oncology physics, including electron, photon, proton and MR-Linacs.
His areas of expertise are in nanoparticles, radiation dosimetry, treatment planning, outcome and medical physics technology. He has served in most societies as a board member, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board, and the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
Professor Das has been member of IPEM since 1979 and served as a member of the Fellowship panel. He has taught courses in local universities and hospitals as well as for many organisations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Union for International Cancer Control and AAPM.
Research
His research expertise has been acknowledged by almost 240 peer reviewed publications and more than 440 abstracts. He has written 24 books and chapters, including the recent intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) book by IOP Publishing and Physics of Radiation Therapy and Biology by Springer-Nature.
Professor Das is the current Associate Editor of the British Journal of Radiology, Medical Physics, Journal of Radiation Research and journal of Medical Physics, and is the current chair of the Editorial Advisory Board of the IPEM/IOP Publishing e-books programme.
Humble beginnings
Professor Das said: ‘I was born in a tiny village on the India/Nepal border to illiterate parents who really cared and loved me. I developed a great passion for learning and dreaming big from my grandfather, who instilled an aspiration for education, striving and perseverance in me.
‘I am honoured to receive this award and I am thankful to everyone who made it possible, and I am thankful to my wife and children for their love and support.’
Professor Stephen O’Connor, IPEM’s President, said: ‘The Academic Gold Medal represents excellence in academia, generally over a considerable period of time, and collaboration with IPEM. Indra has had a stellar academic career and found time to collaborate with IPEM most recently as a member of the Fellowship Panel.’
Academic Early Career award
Dr Peter Charlton is a British Heart Foundation Research Fellow in the Department of Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in the development of biomedical signal processing to aid clinical decision making.
He has built an international reputation as a biomedical engineering researcher specialising in signal processing for wearables. Having graduated in 2010, he conducted his research jointly at St Thomas’ Hospital and King’s College London from 2010-2020.
Research
Dr Charlton’s research track record is demonstrated by his publications, clinical studies, and research resources. His 18 journal papers have attracted international attention: his work on respiratory rate monitoring was awarded the Martin Black Prize in 2016; his IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering paper was the journal’s most popular paper for over 12 months; and his publications are widely cited. He was awarded the Best Early Career Researcher award at the national BioMedEng18 Conference for his work on modelling arterial pulse waves.
He is involved in clinical studies providing evidence to translate wearable technology into clinical practice. His work on two clinical studies in laboratory and ward settings at St Thomas’ Hospital demonstrated the feasibility of using wearables to detect clinical deteriorations in acutely-ill patients. He is now Principal Investigator on a study using wearables to detect atrial fibrillation (AF), and a contributor to the SAFER Trial which is assessing the effectiveness of AF screening using handheld ECG devices. Dr Charlton makes his research resources publicly available, including benchmark datasets and algorithms.
Collaboration and engagement
Dr Charlton collaborates widely with academics, clinicians, and industry and has established international collaborations with academics in Israel, Lithuania and Iran. He is the ‘Photoplethysmography’ group leader for VascAgeNet, a European Research Network. He has worked with four wearable manufacturers to develop and clinically evaluate their devices.
He is a member of the Physiological Measurement SIG, sits on the Editorial Board for Physiological Measurement, and is a frequent reviewer for several journals. He has given invited presentations to national and international organisations, including Ghent University, Health Data Research UK, and the National Physical Laboratory. He has also helped develop and run a course for schoolchildren on hypertension.
Dr Charlton is widely involved in teaching students, including project supervision, undergraduate teaching, and writing textbooks.
Dr Charlton said: 'It’s an honour to receive this award. Looking back, I’d wholeheartedly recommend a career in Biomedical Engineering to anyone who is interested in maths and science, enjoys tackling problems, and wants to serve others. I’m grateful to the many people who have supported me in my career to date, whether academic supervisors and colleagues who have often gone above and beyond to help me develop, clinical collaborators who have selflessly given their time, and patients whose generosity makes Biomedical Engineering research possible. Finally, I’d like to thank my funders: the British Heart Foundation and the EPSRC.'
Professor O’Connor said: ‘This award highlights an early career member of IPEM who is destined to go far in their academic career. Peter has had a distinguished career to date and is a worthy winner.’