Q&A: Katelyn Milkowski, physics manager
Katelyn Milkowski is a physics manager at Mevion Medical Systems, a Littleton-based medical technology company specializing in proton therapy for the treatment of cancer.
Q: Why did you get into this field?
A: I've known since fifth grade that I wanted to study physics. So I went to MIT with that already in mind. I finally decided on medical physics because I wanted to feel like what I do matters, rather than just practice science for the sake of expanding our knowledge.
Q: What’s the most rewarding aspect of the job?
A: I've worked at three of Mevion’s installation sites so far and was able to be present when the first patients were treated using our system. Seeing the proton therapy system actually do what it was designed for — treating patients with cancer — is by far the most rewarding part of the job.
Q: What’s your greatest challenge?
A: I am always on call for issues at our clinical sites that our on-site service personnel can't quickly handle themselves. It's always a challenge to have to quickly troubleshoot an issue knowing there is a patient on the table.
Q: What does the future of your industry hold?
A: The proton therapy industry seems to be unanimously moving towards smaller footprint machines, but also towards developing new, more targeted delivery systems for the treatment of cancer.
This interview was edited for length by Emily Micucci.
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