Faculty

Margaret S. Blackwood, MS, DABR

Director, Radiation Physics/Safety
AHN Radiation Safety Officer
AHN MR Safety Officer

(412) 359-6864

Location

Allegheny General Hospital
Radiation Physics/Safety
Allegheny Health Network
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Biography

Ms. Blackwood joined West Penn Hospital, an Allegheny Health Network (AHN) facility, as the Director of Radiation Physics/Safety and Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) in 1990. In 2010, Radiation Physics/Safety Department began supporting all AHN facilities.  Prior to this, she was the Director or Radiation Physics and RSO at Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh PA. She is a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Past-President of the Penn-Ohio Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Health Physics Society.

Education

Ms. Blackwood received her master’s degree in Radiological Health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. She is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiological Physics and Diagnostic Radiological Physics (1983).

Kurt G Blodgett, MS, DABR

Senior Radiation Physicist
Director of the Diagnostic Residency Physics Program
Assistant Professor of Radiological Science, Drexel University College of Medicine

(412) 359-4664

Location

Allegheny General Hospital
Radiation Physics/Safety Office
Allegheny Health Network
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Biography

Mr. Blodgett joined Allegheny Health Network as a Director of Outreach Physics in Department of Radiation Oncology 2001. In 2019, he transferred to the Radiation Physics/Safety Office as a Senior Radiation Physicist.  Prior to this, he held a medical physicist position at the University of Pittsburgh/UPMC. He is a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and Past-President of the Penn-Ohio Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Education

Mr. Blodgett received his Master’s degree in Radiological Physics from Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiological Physics (1989) and Diagnostic Radiological Physics (1999).

Mitchell J Jarosz, Jr, MS, DABR
Senior Radiation Physicist

(412) 359-6868

Location

Allegheny General Hospital
Radiation Physics/Safety Office
Allegheny Health Network
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Biography

Mr. Jarosz joined Allegheny Health Network in 2013 as Sr Radiation Physicist.   Prior to the current appointment, he was Sr Medical Physicist & Advisor to President, OncologyMed, Inc  (2011-2013), Sr VP & Director of Physics, OncologyMed, Inc (2007-2011) , Sr VP & Director of Physics, CPRS, Inc (1998-2007), Regional Director of Physics, Oncology Services Corp (1992-1998) and  Radiological Physicist, St. Francis Hospital, Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine, (1972-1992). He is a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Education

Mr. Jarosz received his Master’s degree in Radiological Physics from Carnegie-Mellon University (1976). He is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Radiological Physics (1978)

Sunil Valaparla, PhD, DABR, DABSNM
Senior Radiation Physicist

(412) 359-6507

Location

Allegheny General Hospital
Radiation Physics/Safety Office
Allegheny Health Network
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Biography

Dr. Valaparla joined Allegheny Health Network as a Senior Radiation Physicist in Department of Radiation Physics/Safety in September 2022. Prior to this, he held medical physicist positions at Children’s National Hospital, Washington DC and University of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN. He is a member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and American College of Radiology.

Education

Dr. Valaparla received his PhD degree in Radiological Sciences from University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio Texas, and MS degree in Physics from University of Texas at El Paso. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Medical Physics (2018), by American Board of Magnetic Resonance Safety in MR Safety Expert (2020), and by American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine in Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation (2021).