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Chia-ho Hua, PhD
Chia-ho Hua, PhD

Chia-ho Hua, PhD

Member, St. Jude Faculty

  • Director of Medical Physics Research, Radiation Oncology Department

Departments

Education

MS – National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
PhD – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Postdoctoral Fellowship – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York

Honors & Awards

  • 2023  Fellow, American Association of Physicists in Medicine
  • 2022 Distinguished referee for journal of Medical Physics
  • 2019  Scientific Research Highlights, St. Jude Scientific Report
  • 2019  Top downloaded paper in journal of Medical Physics
  • 2016  Science Council Winner, American Association of Physicist in Medicine
  • 2014  Finalist of Employee of the Year, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
  • 2013  St. Jude 5100 Club Induction
  • 2012  Mentor, Best in Physics Award, American Association of Physicist in Medicine

Research Interests

  • Improving proton therapy targeting accuracy
  • Advanced imaging for precision radiation therapy
  • Predictive modeling for tumor response and treatment late effects

Selected Publications

Olch AJ, Gopalakrishnan M, Murphy ES, MacDonald SM, Hua C. Toward Systematic Assessment and Improvement of Radiation Therapy Plan Quality of Cooperative Group Trial Submissions: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group. Pract Radiat Oncol Jul-Aug;13(4):e374-e382, 2023.

Olch AJ, van Luijk P, Hua C, Avanzo M, Howell RM, Yorke E, Aznar MC, Kry SF. Physics Considerations for Evaluation of Dose for Dose-Response Models of Pediatric Late Effects From Radiation Therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Mar 30:S0360-3016(23)00216-X, 2023.

Uh J, Jordan JA, Pappo AS, Krasin MJ, Hua C. Adaptive Proton Therapy for Pediatric Parameningeal Rhabdomyosarcoma: On-Treatment Anatomic Changes and Timing to Replanning. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) Apr;35(4):245-254, 2023.

Kelsey TW, Hua C, Wyatt A, Indelicato D, Wallace WH. A predictive model of the effect of therapeutic radiation on the human ovary. PLoS One Nov 18;17(11):e0277052, 2022.

Faught AM, Wilson LJ, Gargone M, Pirlepesov F, Moskvin VP, Hua C. Treatment-planning approaches to intensity modulated proton therapy and the impact on dose-weighted linear energy transfer. J Appl Clin Med Phys Jan;24(1):e13782, 2023.

Moskvin VP, Pirlepesov F, Yan Y, Ates O, Myers WJ, Uh J, Zhao L, Shapira N, Yagil Y, Merchant TE, Hua C. Accuracy of stopping power ratio calculation and experimental validation of proton range with dual-layer computed tomography. Acta Oncol Jul;61(7):864-868, 2022.

Wang C, Uh J, Tushar P, Merchant TE, Li Y, Hua C*, Acharya S*. Toward MR-only proton therapy planning: synthesis of relative proton stopping power images with multiple sequence MRI and development of an online quality assurance tool. Med Phys Mar;49(3):1559-1570, 2022. (*Co-senior author)

Wang C, Uh J, Merchant TE, Hua C, Acharya S. Facilitating MR-guided adaptive proton therapy in children by using synthetic CT generated by self-attention cycle-generative adversarial networks. Int J Part Ther June 25, 2021.  https://doi.org/10.14338/IJPT-20-00099.1

Dell’Oro M, Wilson P, Short M, Hua C, Merchant TE, Bezak E. Normal tissue complication probability modelling to guide individual treatment planning in paediatric cranial proton and photon radiotherapy. Med Phys Jan;49(1):742-755, 2022.

Moskvin VP, Faught A, Pirlepesov F, Zhao L, Hua C, Merchant TE. Monte Carlo framework for commissioning a synchrotron-based discrete spot scanning proton beam system and verifying treatment plans. Biomed Phys Eng Express 7(4), 2021. doi: 10.1088/2057-1976/ac077a.

Vogel J, Hui S, Hua C, Dusenbery K, Rassiah P, Kalapurakalkal J, Constine L, Esiashvili N. Pulmonary toxicity after total body irradiation - critical review of the literature and recommendations for toxicity reporting. Front Oncol August 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2021.708906

Rassiah P, Esiashvili N, Olch AJ, Hua C, Ulin K, Molineu A, Marcus K, Gopalakrishnan, Pillai SM, Kovalchuk N, Liu A, Niyazov G, Peñagarícano JA, Cheung F, Olson AC, Wu CC, Malhotra H, MacEwan IJ, Faught J, Breneman JC, Followill DS, FitzGerald TJ, Kalapurakal JA. Practice patterns of pediatric total body irradiation techniques: A Children's Oncology Group survey. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 111(4):1155-1164, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.07.1715

Uh J, Wang C, Acharya S, Krasin MJ, Hua C. Training an artificial neural network coping with diversities in pediatric abdominopelvic images toward CBCT-based adaptive proton therapy. Radiother Oncol 160:250-258, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2021.05.006

Constine LS, Olch A, Jackson A, Hua C, Ronckers CM, Milano M, Marcus KJ, Yorke E, Hodgson DC, Howell RM, Hudson MM, Williams JP, Marples B, Kremer LCM, Marks LB, Bentzen SM. Pediatric normal tissue effects in the clinic (PENTEC): An international collaboration to assess normal tissue radiation dose-volume response relationships for children with cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys March 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.10.040

Ates O, Hua C, Zhao L, Shapira N, Yagil Y, Merchant TE, Krasin MJ. Feasibility of using post-contrast dual-energy CT for pediatric radiation treatment planning and dose calculation. Br J Radiol 94(1118):20200170, 2021. PMID: 33201728

Acharya S, Wang C, Quesada S, Gargone MA, Ates O, Uh J, Krasin MJ, Merchant TE, Hua C. Adaptive proton therapy for pediatric patients: improving the quality of the delivered plan with on-treatment MRI. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 109(1):242-251, 2021. PMID: 33129626

Uh J, Merchant TE, Conklin HM, Ismael Y, Li Y, Han Y, Sabin ND, Babajani-Feremi A, Indelicato DJ, Hua C. Diffusion tensor imaging–based analysis of baseline neurocognitive function and posttreatment white matter changes in pediatric patients with craniopharyngioma treated with surgery and proton therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 109(2):515-526, 2021. PMID: 32898610

Dell’Oro M, Short M, Wilson P, Hua C, Gargone M, Merchant TE, Bezak E. Influence of target location, size, and patient age on normal tissue sparing- proton and photon therapy in paediatric brain tumour patient-specific approach. Cancers 12(9):2578, 2020.

Hua C, Vern-Gross TZ, Hess CB, Olch AJ, Alaei P, Sathiaseelan V, Deng J, Ulin K,  Laurie F, Gopalakrishnan M, Esiashvili N, Wolden SL, Krasin MJ, Merchant TE, Donaldson SS, FitzGerald TJ, Constine LS, Hodgson DC, Haas-Kogan DA, Anita Mahajan A, Laack N, Marcus KJ, Taylor PA, Ahern VA, Followill DS, Buchsbaum JC, Breneman JC, Kalapurakal JA. Practice Patterns and Recommendations for Pediatric Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT): A Children’s Oncology Group Report. Pediatr Blood  Cancer 67(10):e28629, 2020. 

Hua C, Mascia AE, Servalli E, Lomax AJ, Seiersen K, Ulin K.  Advances in radiotherapy technology for pediatric cancer patients and roles of medical physicists: COG and SIOP Europe perspectives. Pediatr Blood Cancer 00:e28344, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.28344

Chang JH, Poppe MM, Hua C, Marcus KJ, Esiashvili N. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Pediatr Blood Cancer 00:e28371, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.28371

Tinkle CL, Pappo A, Wu J, Mao S, Hua C, Shulkin B, McCarville MB, Kaste SC, Davidoff A, Bahrami A, Green DM, Ness KK, Merchant TE, Spunt SL, Krasin MJ. Efficacy and safety of limited-margin conformal radiation therapy for pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: long-term results of a phase 2 study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 107(1):172-180, 2020.

Kelsey TW, Hua C, Wallace WHB. The effect of radiotherapy on the human reproductive system. In Kim SS and Donnez J (Eds.), Fertility Preservation: Principles and Practice. Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2019.

Uh J, Kadbi M, Hua C. Effects of age-related breathing characteristics on the performance of four-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging reconstructed by prospective gating for radiation therapy planning. Phys Imag Radiat Oncol 11:82-87, 2019.

Bass JK, Huang J, Hua C, Bhagat SP, Mendel LL, Onar-Thomas A, Indelicato DJ, Merchant TE. Auditory outcomes in patients who received proton radiotherapy for craniopharyngioma. Am J Audiol 27(3):306-315, 2018.

Constine LS, Ronckers CM, Hua C, Olch A, Kremer LCM, Jackson A, Bentzen SM. Pediatric normal tissue effects in the clinic (PENTEC): An international collaboration to analyse normal tissue radiation dose-volume response relationships for paediatric cancer patients. Clin Oncol 31(3):199-207, 2019.   

Hsu C-Y, Li Y, Han Y, Elijovich L, Sabin N, Faught A, Hua C, Merchant T, Klimo P, Lucas J. Automatic image processing pipeline for tracking longitudinal vessel changes in magnetic resonance angiography. J Magn Reson Imaging 50(4):1063-1074, 2019.

Boria A, Uh J, Pirlepesov F, Stuckey JC, Axente M, Gargone MA, Hua C. Interplay effect of target motion and pencil-beam scanning in proton therapy for pediatric patients. International Journal of Particle Therapy 5(2):1-10, Fall 2018.

Hua C, Shapira N, Merchant TE, Klahr P, Yagil Y. Accuracy of electron density, effective atomic number, and iodine concentration determination with a dual-layer dual-energy computed tomography system. Med Phys 45(6):2486-2497, 2018.

Breneman JC, Donaldson SS, Constine L, Merchant TE, Marcus K, Paulino A, Followill D, Mahajan A, Laack N, Esiashvili N, Daphne Haas-Kogan D, aurie F, Olch A, Ulin K, Hodgson D, Yock TI, Terezakis S, Krasin M, Panoff J, Chuba P, Hua C, Hess CB, Houghton PJ, Wolden S, Buchsbaum J, Fitzgerald TJ, Kalapurakal JA. The Children’s Oncology Group Radiation Oncology Discipline: 15 years of contribution to the treatment of childhood cancer. Int Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 101(4):860-874, 2018.

Yao W, Moskvin V, Zhao L, Lukose R, Hua, C, Tsiamas P, Axentem M, Merchant T, Farr J. Implementation of a simplified analytical random walk model dose calculation algorithm with nuclear interaction for clinical scenarios in a proton pencil-beam scanning system. Biomed Phys Eng Express 4(3):035023, 2018.

Olch A, Hua C. Basic principles and advances in technology used for pediatric radiotherapy. In Merchant TE and Rolf-Dieter K (Eds.), Pediatric Radiation Oncology. Springer International Publishing, 2018.

Hsu CY, Doubrovin M, Hua C, Mohammed O, Shulkin BL, Kaste S, Federico S, Metzger M, Krasin MJ, Tinkle CL, Merchant TE, Lucas JT Jr. Radiomics features differentiate between normal and tumoral high-FDG uptake. Scientific Reports 8:3913, 2018.

Hua C, Uh J, Krasin MJ, Lucas Jr JT, Tinkle CL, Acharya S, Smith H, Kadbi M, Merchant T. Clinical implementation of magnetic resonance imaging systems for simulation and planning of pediatric radiation therapy. J Med Imag Radiat Sci 49(2):153-163, 2018.

Uh J, Krasin MJ, Hua C. Technical Note: Feasibility of MRI-based estimation of water-equivalent path length to detect changes in proton range during treatment courses. Med Phys 45(4):1677-1683, 2018.

Landry G, Hua C. Current state and future applications of radiological image guidance for particle therapy. Med Phys 45(11):e1086-e1095, 2018.

Show More

De Blasi B, Barnes A, Galazzo IB, Hua C, Shulkin B, Koepp M, Tisdall M.  Age-specific 18F-FDG image processing pipelines and analysis are essential for individual mapping of seizure foci in paediatric patients with intractable epilepsy J Nucl Med  59(10):1590-1596,

Hua C, Yao W, Kidani T, Tomida K, Ozawa S, Nishimura T, Fujisawa T, Shinagawa R, Merchant TE. A robotic C-arm cone beam CT system for image-guided proton therapy: design and performance. Br J Radiol 90(1079):20170266, 2017.

Tsang DS, Merchant TE, Merchant SE, Smith H, Yagil Y, Hua C. Estimating potential reduction in contrast dose with mono-energetic images synthesized from double-layer detector spectral CT. Br J Radiol 90(1078):20170290, 2017.

Tinkle CL, Fernandez-Pineda I, Sykes A, Lu Z, Hua C, Neel MD, Bahrami A, Shulkin BL, Kaste SC, Pappo A, Spunt SL, Krasin MJ. Non-Rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS) in pediatric and young adult patients: results from a prospective study using limited margin radiotherapy. Cancer 2017 [published online ahead of print Jul 31, 2017]. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30793

Lucas JT Jr, Knapp BJ, Uh J, Hua C, Merchant TE, Hwang SN, Patay Z, Broniscer A. Posttreatment DSC-MRI is predictive of early treatment failure in children with supratentorial high-grade glioma treated with erlotinib. Clin Neuroradiol 123(22):4419-4429, 2017. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30793

Lucas Jr JT, Serrano N, Kim H, Li X, Snyder SE, Hwang S, Li Y, Hua C, Broniscer A, Merchant TE, Shulkin BL. 11C-Methionine positron emission tomography delineates non-contrast enhancing tumor regions at high risk for recurrence in pediatric high-grade glioma. J Neurooncol 132(1):163-170, 2017.

Uh J, Krasin MJ, Li Y, Li X, Tinkle CL, Lucas Jr JT, Merchant TE, Hua C. Quantification of pediatric abdominal organ motion with a 4-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging method. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 99(1):227-237, 2017.

Uh J, Khan MA, Hua C. Four-dimensional MRI using internal respiratory surrogate derived by dimensionality reduction. Phys Med Biol 61(21):7812-7832, 2016.

Bass JK, Hua C, Huang J, Onar A, Ness K, Jones S, White S, Shaum PB, Chang KW, Merchant TE. Hearing loss in patients who received cranial radiation therapy for childhood cancer. J Clin Oncol 34(11):1248-1255, 2016.

Hua C, Shulkin BL, Indelicato DJ, Li Y, Li X, Boop FA, Merchant TE. Postoperative cerebral glucose metabolism in pediatric craniopharyngioma patients receiving proton therapy. J Neurosurg Pediatr 16(5):567-573, 2015.

Uh J, Merchant TE, Li Y, Li X, Sabin ND, Indelicato DJ, Ogg RJ, Boop FA, Hua C. Effects of surgery and proton therapy on cerebral white matter of craniopharyngioma patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 93(1):64-71, 2015.

Hua C, Merchant TE, Li Y, Li X, Shulkin BL. Establishing age-associated normative ranges of cerebral 18F-FDG uptake ratio in children. J Nucl Med 56(4):575-579, 2015.

Uh J, Merchant TE, Li Y, Li X, Hua C. MRI-based treatment planning with pseudo CT generated through atlas registration. Med Phys 41(5):051711, 2014. doi: 10.1118/1.4873315.

Uh J, Merchant TE, Li Y, Feng T, Gajjar A, Ogg RJ, Hua C. Differences in Brainstem Fiber Tract Response to Radiation: A Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol PhysJune 1;86(2):292-7, 2013. doi:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2013.01.028. 

Laser B, Merchant TE, Indelicato D, Hua C, Shulkin B. Evaluation of children with craniopharyngioma using carbon-11 methionine PET prior to proton therapy. J Neuro Oncol 15(4):506-510, 2013.

Merchant TE, Kun LE, Hua C, Wu S, Xiong X, Sanford R, Boop F. Disease control after reduced volume conformal and intensity-modulated radiation therapy for childhood craniopharyngioma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 85(4):e187-92. 2013.

Pai Panandiker AS, Beltran C, Gray JM, Hua C. Methods for image-guided and intensity-modulated radiation therapy in high-risk abdominal neuroblastoma. Pract Radiat Oncol 3(2):107-114, 2013.

Hua C, Wu S, Chemaitilly W, Lukose RC, Merchant TE. Predicting the probability of abnormal stimulated growth hormone response in children after radiotherapy for brain tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Nov 15;84(4):990-5, 2012. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2012.01.049. Epub 2012 Apr 6.

Hua C, Merchant TE, Gajjar A, Broniscer A, Zhang Y, Li Y, Glenn GR, Kun LE, Ogg RJ. Brain tumor therapy-induced changes in normal-appearing brainstem measured with longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Apr 1;82(5):2047-54, 2012. Epub 2011 Jun 12.

Pai Panandiker AS, Sharma S, Naik M, Wu S, Hua C, Beltran C, Krasin MJ, Merchant TE. Novel assessment of renal motion in children as measured via 4-dimensional computed tomography. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Apr 1;82(5):1771-6, 2012. Epub 2011 May 27.

Krasin MJ, Wiese KM, Spunt SL, Hua C, Daw N, Navid F, Davidoff AM, McGregor L, Merchant TE, Kun LE, McCrarey L, Hoth KA, Yan X, Xiong X. Jaw dysfunction related to pterygoid and masseter muscle dosimetry following radiation therapy in children and young adults with head and neck sarcomas. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Jan 1;82(1):355-60, 2012. Epub 2010 Nov 17.

Hua C, Hoth KA, Wu S, Kun LE, Metzger ML, Spunt SL, Xiong X, Krasin MJ. Incidence and correlates of radiation pneumonitis in pediatric patients with partial lung irradiation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys78(1):143-9, 2010.

Krasin MJ, Davidoff AM, Xiong X, Wu S, Hua C, Navid F, Rodriguez-Galindo C, Rao BN, Hoth KA, Neel MD, Merchant TE, Kun LE, Spunt SL. Preliminary results of a prospective study using limited margin radiotherapy in pediatric and young adult patients with high grade nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 76(3):874-8, 2010.

Krasin MJ, Hoth KA, Hua C, Gray JM, Wu S, Xiong X. Incidence and correlates of radiation dermatitis in children and adolescents receiving radiation therapy for the treatment of paediatric sarcomas. Clin Oncol 21(10):781-5, 2009.

Hua C, Bass JK, Khan R, Kun LE, Merchant TE. Hearing loss after radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors: effect of cochlear dose. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 72(3):892-9, 2008.

Merchant TE, Hua C, Shukla HI, Ying X, Nil S, Elfie U. Proton vs. photon radiotherapy for common pediatric brain tumors: comparison of models of dose characteristics and their relationship to cognitive function. Pediatr Blood & Cancer 51(1):110-7, 2008.

Hua C, Gray JM, Merchant TE, Kun LE, Krasin MJ. Treatment planning and delivery of external beam radiotherapy for pediatric sarcoma: the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital experience. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 70(5):1598-606, 2008.

Hua C, Sheila HI, Merchant TE, Krasin MJ. Estimating difference in volumetric flat bone growth in pediatric patients by radiation treatment method. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 67(2):552-8, 2007.

Lovelock M, Hua C, Wang P, Hunt M, Fournier-Bides N, Yenice K, Toner S, Lutz W, Amoles H, Bilks M, Funks Z, Yamada Y. Accurate setup of para spinal patients using a noninvasive patient immobilization cradle and portal imaging. Med Phys 32(8):2606-14, 2005.

Hua C, Chang J, Yenice K, Chan M, Amols H. A practical approach to prevent gantry-couch collision for linac-based radiosurgery. Med Phys 31(7):2128-34, 2004.

Hua C, Lovelock M, Mageras GS, Katz MS, Mechalakos J, Lief EP, Hollister T, Lutz WR, Zelefsky MJ, Ling CC. Development of a semi-automatic alignment tool for accelerated localization of the prostate.Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 55(3):811-24, 2003.

Yenice K, Lovelock M, Lutz W, Fournier-Bidoz N, Hua C, Yamada J, Bilsky M, Hunt M, Amols H. CT-image guided intensity modulated therapy of paraspinal tumors. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 55(3):583-93, 2003.

Last update: July 2023

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