Education Doctor of Philosophy
Duke University ■ Durham, NC ■ Candidate
■ Advisor: Dr. James T. Dobbins III ■ Diagnostic Imaging focus ■ (Proposed) dissertation title - Correlated Polarity Noise Reduction: Development and Assessment of a Novel Nonlinear Noise Reduction Algorithm Bachelor of Arts
Summa Cum Laude ■ Central College ■ Pella, IA ■ 2008
■ Advisors: Drs. Viktor Martisovits, Paul Naour, and Mark Johnson ■ Math and Psychology minors ■ Senior honors thesis title - Image Analysis: Building a Rabbit MRI Brain Atlas ■ Study Abroad (London, UK) Research Experience PhD Researcher
Duke University ■ Durham, NC ■ 2008-Present
■ Mentored by Dr. James T. Dobbins, III, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories ■ Formulated novel motion correction techniques for a lower-cost CT system ■ Simulated x-ray scatter and radiographic antiscatter grids with the PENELOPE suite of Monte Carlo simulation software ■ Contributed to the development of correlated polarity noise reduction (CPNR) ■ Generalized 1-D MTF measurement methodologies for the estimation of 2-D MTF ■ Created a unique collection of tools for the evaluation of linear and nonlinear image processing algorithms - specifically their resolution and distortion properties
University of Wisconsin, Madison ■ Madison, WI ■ 2011
■ Supervised by Dr. Charles Mistretta, Medical Physics ■ Studied HYPR and VIPR techniques applied to magnetic resonance angiography ■ Investigated possible hybridization of CPNR with HYPR to improve SNR Summer Intern
West Virginia University ■ Morgantown, WV ■ 2007
■ Mentored by Drs. Bernard Schreurs and Susan Lemiux, WVU Center for Neuroscience ■ Operated GE Signa Excite 3T MRI ■ Examined ventricular volume changes in the rabbit model of human Alzheimer's disease ■ Used neuroscience software for data analysis (AFNI, FSL, etc.) ■ Developed techniques for automated image segmentation and ventricular volume measurement using MATLAB Honorary Laboratory Assistant
University College London ■ London, UK ■ 2005
Teaching Experience■ Supervised by Dr. Katherine Jeffery, Jeffery Laboratory ■ Observed experimental studies of the rat hippocampus and its role in spatial memory formation and retrieval tasks ■ Assisted in data collection from in vivo hippocampal place cells ■ Used MATLAB in data collection and analysis Graduate Teaching Assistant Duke University ■ Durham, NC ■ 2010-2011
■ Graduate-level Advanced Medical Imaging Physics (MEDPHY 331) ■ Implemented “one-minute essays” and blogs (see Teaching Statement) ■ Conducted interactive test review sessions ■ Wrote homework assignments ■ Graded assignments, tests, and presentations ■ Held regular office hours Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Central College ■ Pella, IA ■ 2006-2008
■ Undergraduate-level General Physics I and II (PHYS 111 and PHYS 112) ■ Directed one out-of-class help session per week ■ Implemented practice quizzes and tests as teaching and discussion aids ■ Graded papers, homework, quizzes and tests (average of two assignments per week for 45 students) ■ Taught proper laboratory and experimental procedure ■ Led and guided experiments; Assessed weekly laboratory reports Upward Bound Tutor-Counselor
Central College ■ Pella, IA ■ 2005
Honors and Awards■ Served under the Central College Upward Bound Pre-College Program ■ Mentored 14 young men as a resident adviser ■ Taught introductory college-level physics and calculus to 16 high school students ■ Designed physics laboratories covering general mechanics ■ Coached, organized, and supervised athletic events, service projects, and field trips for 114 students (UB Summer Schedule 2005) Duke University
Certificate in College Teaching ■ In progress
Director's Award for Exemplary Service (Medical Physics) ■ 2013
Carey E. Floyd Graduate Fellowship (Medical Physics) ■ 2012
Excellence in Teaching Assistantship Award (Medical Physics) ■ 2011, 2012
NIH Cross-disciplinary Training Grant in Medical Physics (TG32 EB007185) ■ 2009-2011
Duke Medical Physics PhD Fellowship ■ 2008-2009 Central College
Richard J. Mentink Award in Physics ■ 2008
Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology ■ 2006-2008 Iowa Conference All-Academic Track Team ■ 2006 Varsity Letter Award, Track and Field ■ 2005,2006 Alpha Zeta Mu Honor Society ■ 2005-2006 Collegiate All-American Scholar ■ 2005 H.S. Kuyper Full Tuition Scholarship ■ 2004-2008 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholar ■ 2004-2008 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Scholarship ■ 2004-2008 Dean’s List ■ 2004-2008 National Dean’s List ■ 2004 State of Iowa Scholar ■ 2004 Leadership Activities Duke University Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories Student Representative ■ 2012-Present
Ad Hoc Reviewer, Medical Physics ■ 2012
Medical Physics Recruitment Committee ■ 2011-Present Medical Physics Student Handbook Executive Editor ■ 2009-2011 Medical Physics Student Advisory Board ■ 2009-2010 Medical Physics Liaison to the Graduate School Association ■ 2009-2010 Medical Physics Student Mentorship Coordinator ■ 2009-2010 Central College
Psi Chi Vice President (elect), Psi Chi President (pro tempore) ■ 2007
Campus Ministries Worship Team (Bassist) ■ 2006-2008 Campus Ministries Executive Team ■ 2006-2008 Study Abroad (London, UK) ■ 2005 Leadership Development Institute ■ 2005 Pietenpol Dormitory Hall Council ■ 2004-2005 Intervarsity Technology Team ■ 2004-2005 Central College Honors Program ■ 2004-2008 Publications Wells, J. R. & Dobbins, J. T. III. (2013). Frequency response and distortion properties of nonlinear image processing
Wells, J. R. & Dobbins, J. T. III. (2012). Estimation of the two-dimensional presampled modulation transfer function of
digital radiography devices using one-dimensional test objects. Medical Physics 39(10): 6148-6160.
Lemieux, S. K., Smith-Bell, C. A., Wells, J. R., Ezerioha, N. M., Carpenter, J. S., Sparks, D. L. & Schreurs, B. G. (2010).
Neurovascular changes measured by time-of-flight MR angiography in cholesterol-fed rabbits with cortical amyloid beta-peptide accumulation. J Magn Reson Imaging 32(2): 306-314.
Presentations Wells, J. R., Segars, W. P., & Dobbins, J. T. III. TH-A-103-10 : Improved
Segmentation of Low-Contrast Fibroglandular
Wells, J. R. & Dobbins, J. T. III. TU-A-218-01:Estimation of the 2-D presampled MTF of a digital flat panel detector using an
Wells, J. R. & Dobbins, J. T. III. A
closed-form, analytical solution to 3-D motion correction in lower-cost CT.
Wells, J. R., Segars, W. P., Kigongo,
C. J. N. & Dobbins, J. T. III. A new approach to motion correction applied
to lower-cost
Wells, J. R., Segars, W. P., Frush, D.
P., McAdams, H. P., Kigongo, C. J. N. & Dobbins, J. T. III. A
post-acquisition motion
Conference Proceedings and Presentations
Wells, J. R. & Dobbins, J. T. III. Preliminary investigation of the frequency response and distortion properties of nonlinear
Dobbins, J. T. III, Wells, J. R., & Segars, W. P. Dose reduction in CT with correlated-polarity noise reduction: comparable
Dobbins, J. T. III & Wells, J. R. Correlated-polarity noise reduction: feasibility of a new statistical approach to reduce
image noise. SPIE Medical Imaging 2011, Physics of Medical Imaging; 2011 February 12-17; Lake Buena Vista, FL. Samei, E. & Pelc, N. J. (Eds.), 7961. Bellingham, WA: SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering; 2011 March. (Oral presentation)
Wells, J. R., Segars, W. P., Kigongo, C. J. N. & Dobbins, J. T. III. Refinement of motion correction strategies for lower-cost CT for under-resourced regions of the world. SPIE Medical Imaging 2011, Physics of Medical Imaging; 2011 February 12-17; Lake Buena Vista, FL. Samei, E. & Pelc, N. J. (Eds.), 7961. Bellingham, WA: SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering; 2011 March. (Poster presentation)
Dobbins, J. T. III, Wells, J. R., Segars, W. P., Li, C. M. & Kigongo, C. J. N. Initial investigation into lower-cost CT for resource
limited regions of the world. SPIE Medical Imaging 2010, Physics of Medical Imaging; 2010 February 13-18; San Diego, CA. Samei, E. & Pelc, N. J. (Eds.), 7622. Bellingham, WA: SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering; 2010 April. (Poster presentation)
Skills Computing
MATLAB; GUI design; ImageJ/FIJI; Monte Carlo Software (PENELOPE); C; FORTRAN 77; LINUX; Mathematica; HTML; Web design; Microsoft Office Suite; Adobe Photoshop.
Equipment GE Revolution XQ/i; (Prototype) GE Chest Tomosynthesis Unit; GE Signa 3T MRI; Forklift and order selector certified.
Other
Dark room technique; Digital and film photography; Electronics (analog and digital circuitry); Welding (stick, MIG, and brazing); Carpentry; Construction.
Professional Membership The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) The Southeastern Chapter of the AAPM (SEAAPM) Updated 07/28/2013 |