When Jean St. Germain started her career as a medical physicist, there were very few women in the field. That only promulgated her desire to enter the profession, however, and she set out determined to succeed. Along the way, Ms. St. Germain earned a Bachelor of Science from Marymount Manhattan College and a Master of Science from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Ms. St. Germain is certified by the American Board of Health and the American Board of Medical Physics, and is a licensed medical physicist.
Since 2010, Ms. St. Germain has served as an attending physicist, corporation radiation safety officer, and vice chairman for clinical and educational affairs for the Department of Medical Physics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. Her group provides radiation safety services for all of MSKCC’s campuses, specifically offering radiation shielding design services for new and renovated facilities to ensure a safe working environment for the staff, patients, and visitors. Prior to her service at MSKCC, Ms. St. Germain held several positions at Cornell University Medical College, including clinical assistant professor, instructor of radiology, and assistant physicist. She was also a fellow in the Department of Medical Physics at Memorial Hospital in New York, and a U.S. public health service fellow of radiological health at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Ms. St. Germain’s research interests include developing methods to enhance imaging applications and to increase the effectiveness of radiation therapy. Her accomplishments, while as a fellow at the Department of Medical Physics, include developing the iodine 125C for implantation, and 2P01s, which changed how radiation oncology is delivered. Using her knowledge and expertise, Ms. St. German is the author of “The Nurse and Radiotherapy,” and a contributor to medical journals including articles on radiological protection for pregnant women, and radiation treatment for breast and prostate cancer.
Still a consultant in her field, Ms. St. Germain held the position of chairman of the panel on medical health physics of the American Board of Medical Physics from 1993 to 2000. She founded the development fund for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and raised $1 million as an endowment. To keep up with developments in her field, Ms. St. Germain has been affiliated with several societies and organizations, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Radiological and Medical Physics Society of New York, the American Academy of Health Physics, and the American Institute of Physics.
In recognition of her accomplishments, Ms. St. Germain has earned the Marvin M.D. Williams Award, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and the Failla Memorial Lecture Award. She also received the 2017 Who’s Who Worldwide Lifetime Achievement Award and is featured in numerous editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who of American Women.