As it is written in European Medical Physics News, in 2024, Professor Diana Adlienė received the prestigious IDMP Prize, a recognition of her decades-long career driven by passion and a relentless determination to advance the field of medical physics. Originally from Lithuania, Professor Adlienė spent several years abroad before returning to her home country, where she started the first and only regular MSc for medical physicists, building the profession from scratch. I had the honour of interviewing her, and I believe her journey can inspire professionals across the field.
Meet Prof. Diana Adlienė: Adlienė is a Head of the Department of Physics at Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania) working in the medical physics area. She contributed significantly to the establishment and implementation of the regular and unique for Lithuania MSc study programme “Medical Physics”, a legal national recognition of medical physicists as health care professionals, and is responsible for the education and training of medical physicists in the country.
She has been a member of EFOMP Education and Training Committee since 2008 and a member of IOMP Education and Training Committee (2012-2015).
Her research interests are novel materials and methods for individualized dosimetry applications, the development of modular dosimetry phantoms, and development and investigation of lead-free radiation shielding materials.
You didn’t start your career in medical physics but earned a PhD in solid-state physics. What sparked your interest in medical physics later on?
“That’s true. I initially worked in solid-state physics and later at nuclear physics field before discovering medical physics. At that time (in the late 1980s) medical physics was still a small and emerging field. Only a few countries offered specialised programmes for physicists who wanted to work in healthcare.
Plus, being a woman researcher in physics back then was challenging at that time in Lithuania, since women in this field were rather an exception than officially recognized research partners. If it’s now encouraging to see more women in physics, back then when I worked in solid-state physics, I was the only woman in a team of over 50 men.
Establishing myself as a professional was not easy. I owe my career shift to medical physics two inspiring mentors: Professor Slavik Tabakov from King’s College in London and Professor Sören Mattsson, who was working at Malmö University in Sweden at the time. Everything started with my promise to Professor S. Mattsson to bring medical physicists’ profession to Lithuania. What started as a promise ended up becoming my life’s mission!”
You are credited with essentially creating the field of medical physics in Lithuania. How did you accomplish that, and what were the challenges?
When I returned to Lithuania to establish a structured training programme for medical physics, the situation was fragmented. Some hospitals declared that they had medical physicists, but only two of them had received any form of specialised clinical training. Engineers and other professionals were handling medical physics duties without standardised guidelines. It was chaotic. I spent years working with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science and the Radiation Protection Authority to convince them that Lithuania needed for a formal programme. Being a small country helped because it was easier to build connections and have direct conversations with decision-makers. The MSc study programme Medical Physics was started at Kaunas University of Technology in collaboration with Kaunas Medical University in 2003 and runs already more than 20 years successfully, attracting students not only from Lithuania, but also from the whole world.
Initially, only three professors from different physics backgrounds taught the courses, and we had to learn many things ourselves. We have faced some challenges in the early days of the program implementation, because radiology or radiotherapy departments were not ready to accept our students for practical work. I think we found an elegant solution for this time: due to the shortage of finances not every clinic had all the necessary QA equipment, but we – had it!
Thanks to dosimetry laboratory equipment at Kaunas University of Technology, which was granted by Swedish government we were able to approach some clinics in the country offering QC measurements: following just verbal agreement, we provided equipment for clinics with the right for our students to be invited to participate/ perform QC measurements under supervision of local medical physicist. It has worked and we established great connections between the aca[1]demic and clinical settings in this way but within seven years, 50% of medical physicists in clinics were certified through our programme. It took ten years to gain full governmental recognition for the profession, but that milestone allowed us to align with international standards, including EFOMP’s MPE status which can be achieved by those medical physicists who fulfil very strict professional and scientific requirements.
Today, all medical physicists in Lithuania hold certifications from our structured program, and it is no longer possible to perform the profession duties without a regular certification. Through the years Lithuania’s medical physicists earned also international recognition. The best example of the international collaboration is the biannual International Conference “Medical Physics in the Baltic States” where colleagues from around the Baltic See and other countries share their research findings and innovative ideas in the field.
I myself was so engaged in teaching and training young professionals that joining of EFOMP’s Education and Training Committee in 2008 was natural demand. I’ve always believed that building a strong, specialized workforce is essential. Several years I was also a member of IOMP Education and Training Committee.
You are now a professor of Medical Physics at Kaunas University of Technology, but your research is devoted to clinical medical physics. Do you have a favourite between clinical work, teaching, or research?
“Definitely research! I love working with young researchers and pushing innovation forward. I’m currently the only professor of physics working in medical physics area at Kaunas University and in Lithuania, so the majority of my PhD students are graduates from MSc programme Medical Physics. Something I cherish about research is that it’s never a solitary job: it thrives on teamwork. I’ve always tried to create a positive environment for my students and collaborators.
I also emphasise the importance of community. In some places, there is a ‘glass window’ separating professors and students, but this is not how it works in my team. We don’t have a hierarchical, distant relationship between us. We eat together, share tea, dream, develop future plans and build strong connections. This has resulted in a close-knit community of medical physicists in Lithuania who know and support one another.
This is a great advantage whenever professionals in different hospitals need help from one another. Thanks to the strong connections built, it is common for medical physicists’ community members to trust each other, work together and collaborate when needed. One of the best examples of such collaboration is”.
You worked in several European countries. What motivated you to return to Lithuania and start the field from scratch rather than continue advancing it abroad?
“Yes, I studied in Germany and spent time in Switzerland, Sweden, and Croatia. But first and foremost, I’m Lithuanian. I wouldn’t trade that for any other country. Today, we’re fortunate to live in a connected world here being in your home country doesn’t mean losing contact with international colleagues. We can collaborate remotely and stay connected regardless of geography.
Some people say, I’ll live anywhere as long as I have an exciting career. But where is your home? Where are your roots? Nowadays, I believe it’s possible to have both: the career you love and the place you call home. Returning to Lithuania wasn’t just a decision; it felt like a calling. Yes, it was challenging to develop a field that was almost non-existent at the time, especially since I was still relatively new to medical physics. But coming home was the best choice I ever made”.
What advice would you give to young professionals just starting their careers in medical physics?
Don’t give up. Even if you feel unrecognised or undervalued today, remember that your work is meaningful.
“You are helping people who are battling severe illnesses. I understand the frustration young professionals feel… spending years studying and not making much money by the age of 30. But stay optimistic and hopeful. Great things will come across your way. Helping people is a calling, and by choosing this profession, you’ve answered that call. Stay committed, and the rewards will follow”.