UNM professor Shaung Luan has received the first-ever Qforma Lectureship award for making technological advances in radiology treatment that reduce the amount of time cancer patients spend in the hospital.

Luan, an assistant professor of radiology and computer science, assisted in the development of two software programs to improve linear-accelerator-based cancer treatment, minimizing patient time in radiology machines.

Luan was not available for comment last week, but in a statement on the UNM School of Engineering Web site, Luan said that though his work is difficult, it’s also fulfilling.

“I’ll never forget the first day they used my algorithm to treat patients,” he said. “I was nervous, but it worked. That’s when I decided to make it the focus of my career.”

Luan said his innovations have reduced the amount of time it takes to treat tumors using radiation.

“Treatment time can be as much as 80 percent shorter,” he said. “We can deliver a higher dose of radiation to the tumor and less to surrounding structures.”

According to the Qforma Web site, the company provides predictive modeling technologies for the health sciences industry.

Computer Science Department Chairwoman Stephanie Forrest said Luan’s award has benefitted her entire department.

“We are very thrilled to have this award in the department,” Forrest said. “We are happy that he received it and we are grateful to Qforma for sponsoring it.”

Qforma Chief Scientific Officer Roger Jones said that in selecting the recipient for the $5,000 lectureship award, the company looks for candidates who display promise in their own research and in motivating computer science students.

“Qforma is looking forpromising, high-quality untenured professors that will both enhance the reputation of the University and inspire and motivate UNM computer science students to become first-rate developers,” he said.

A committee of senior faculty nominated Luan for the award, Jones said.
Forrest said Luan deserved to win because of his actions as a department member and as a technology developer.

“He is a totally dedicated professor — dedicated to his research and a wonderful teacher,” she said. “He is very generous in department service.”

Forrest said Luan’s computer-generated innovations in the radiology field have significantly reduced the amount of time patients spend in hospitals.

“He has contributed to radiology by developing computerized algorithms that demonstrably improve patient care,” she said. “His algorithms are reducing the amount of time that people have to spend inside the machines being treated.”

The monetary component of the lectureship award is not allocated for anything specific, but it improves the department’s reputation overall, Jones said.

“We hope that the recognition and award will enhance the recipient’s ability to attract good students to his or her research program,” Jones said. “We also hope that the award will help attract other high-quality junior faculty to the computer science department”

Luan credited departmental collaboration for its role in his success.
“You need committed collaborators in medicine and the background in the theory of computer science to design algorithms to solve these problems,” Luan said. “We have both here at UNM. And our department makes interdisciplinary research a priority.”