Michael Folkert, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Dr. Folkert is an academic radiation oncologist with expertise in brachytherapy/interventional techniques, device development, and image analysis. In 2005, he completed his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences through the Harvard/MIT joint program, focusing on particle accelerator design and radiation biology research. He earned his M.D. through the Harvard Health Sciences and Technology Program in 2009 with research in intraoperative radiation therapy while working in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital as a research associate, where he also investigated interaction of respiratory motion on particle beam dose delivery. After an internal medicine internship at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA, he completed the Radiation Oncology Residency Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with an emphasis on brachytherapy procedural training and imaging research with their Department of Medical Physics.

Dr. Folkert was recruited to UTSW's Department of Radiation Oncology to expand the brachytherapy program and develop an intraoperative radiation therapy program to support the surgical services at UTSW. In addition, he serves as the Program Director for the Medical Residency Program and the Associate Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Radiation Oncology. He treats radiation oncology patients with bone/soft tissue, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary cancers, and is the Chief of the Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology Service. He aims to establish collaborative projects with clinicians and researchers.

Other Post Graduate Training

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005)

Graduate School

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005), Nuclear Engineering/radiological Sciences

Medical School

Harvard Medical School (2009)

Internship

Mount Auburn Hospital (2010), Internal Medicine

Clinical Research Fellowship

Cornell/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2013), Clinical Research

Residency

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2013), Radiation Oncology

Chief Resident

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2014), Radiation Oncology

• Brachytherapy
• Charged-particle therapy
• Image analysis and outcomes modeling
• Image-guided and navigational interventional technology
• Interventions for toxicity reduction
• Intraoperative radiation therapy
• Liver cancer
• Ocular tumors
• Oligometastatic disease
• Primary and metastatic lesions of the spine
• Prostate cancer
• Rectal cancer
• Sarcoma
• Stereotactic body radiation therapy

Featured Publications

A Multi-Institutional Phase II Trial of High-Dose SAbR for Prostate Cancer Using Rectal Spacer.

Folkert MR, Zelefsky MJ, Hannan R, Desai NB, Lotan Y, Laine AM, Kim DWN, Neufeld SH, Hornberger B, Kollmeier MA, McBride S, Ahn C, Roehrborn C, Timmerman RD, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2021 Mar

Review of brachytherapy complications - Upper gastrointestinal tract.

Folkert MR, Gottumukkala S, Nguyen NT, Taggar A, Sur RK, Brachytherapy 2020 Dec

Long-Term Results of a Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial and Subsequent Institutional Experience of Single-Fraction Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy for Liver Metastases.

Folkert MR, Meyer JJ, Aguilera TA, Yokoo T, Sanford NN, Rule WG, Mansour J, Yopp A, Polanco P, Hannan R, Nedzi LA, Timmerman RD, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2020 Dec

Feasibility and Outcome of Routine Use of Concurrent Chemoradiation in HIV-positive Patients With Squamous Cell Anal Cancer.

Leiker AJ, Wang CJ, Sanford NN, Aguilera TA, Karri S, Beg MS, Kazmi SA, Olson C, Matthews JA, Abdelnaby A, Meyer JJ, Folkert MR, Am. J. Clin. Oncol. 2020 Jul

Low-cost 3D print-based phantom fabrication to facilitate interstitial prostate brachytherapy training program.

Chiu T, Xiong Z, Parsons D, Folkert MR, Medin PM, Hrycushko B, Brachytherapy 2020 Jul

Prostate brachytherapy procedural training: incorporation of related procedures in resident training and competency assessment.

Bachand J, Schroeder SR, Desai NB, Folkert MR, J Contemp Brachytherapy 2019 Dec 11 6 601-606

Femoral Fracture in Primary Soft-Tissue Sarcoma of the Thigh and Groin Treated with Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy: Observed versus Expected Risk.

Folkert MR, Casey DL, Berry SL, Crago A, Fabbri N, Singer S, Alektiar KM Ann. Surg. Oncol. 2019 Jan

Rectal radiation dose-reduction techniques in prostate cancer: a focus on the rectal spacer.

Leiker AJ, Desai NB, Folkert MR Future Oncol 2018 Jun

Predictive modeling of outcomes following definitive chemoradiotherapy for oropharyngeal cancer based on FDG-PET image characteristics.

Folkert MR, Setton J, Apte AP, Grkovski M, Young RJ, Schöder H, Thorstad WL, Lee NY, Deasy JO, Oh JH Phys Med Biol 2017 Jul 62 13 5327-5343

Dosimetric comparison of rectal-sparing capabilities of rectal balloon vs injectable spacer gel in stereotactic body radiation therapy for prostate cancer: lessons learned from prospective trials.

Jones RT, Hassan Rezaeian N, Desai NB, Lotan Y, Jia X, Hannan R, Kim DWN, Hornberger B, Dubas J, Laine AM, Zelefsky MJ, Timmerman RD, Folkert MR Med Dosim 2017 Jul

 Featured Books

Chapter 15: Contouring Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. In Target Volume Delineation and Field Setup: A Practical Guide for Conformal and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

Goodman K.A., Folkert M.R. (2013). Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Brachytherapy. In Pocket Oncology

Folkert M.R., Zelefsky M.J. (2013). Philadelphia, Pa., USA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins-Wolters Kluwer

Image-guided Prostate Brachytherapy. In Smith's Textbook of Endourology, 2 Volume Set, 4th Edition

Folkert M.R., Desai N.B., Yamada Y. (2019). Hoboken, NJ, Wiley-Blackwell

Chapter 41: Primary Bone Tumors, Including Ewing Sarcoma, and Chapter 42: Soft Tissue Sarcoma. In Radiation Oncology Management Decisions, 4th Edition

O. Mohamad and M.R. Folkert (2018). Philadelphia, USA, Wolters Kluwer Health: Medical Practice

SAbR for Primary Prostate Cancer. In Stereotactic Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy: A Comprehensive Guide

M.R. Folkert, R. Hannan, N.B. Desai, R.D. Timmerman (2019). Cham, Switzerland, Springer Publishing

Interstitial Brachytherapy for Liver Tumors: Practical Issues. In Radiation Therapy for Liver Tumors: Fundamentals and Clinical Practice

M.R. Folkert, B.A. Hrycushko (2017). Switzerland, Springer International Publishing

Chapter 8: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) or Alternative Fractionation Schedules. In Increasing the Therapeutic Ratio of Radiotherapy

Laine A., Wardak Z., Folkert M.R., Timmerman R.D. (2017). Cham, Switzerland, Springer Nature

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In Target Volume Delineation for Conformal and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

Romesser P.B., Folkert M.R., Goodman K.A. (2015). Switzerland, Springer International Publishing

• 2016-2017 ARRO Educator of the Year Award
  (2017)
• 2014 American Brachytherapy Society Resident Travel Grant Award
  (2014)
• 2013 ASTRO Resident Clinical /Basic Science Research Award (Physics)
  (2013)
• ASCO Pain and Symptom Management (Merit) Award
  (2013)
• Best of ASTRO Presentation Recognition
  (2013)
• New York Roentgen Society Best of ASTRO 2011 Award, CNS
  (2011)
• MIT Karl Taylor Compton Prize
  (2005)

• American Radium Society (2016)
• Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) (2014)
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (2012)
• American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) (2011)
• Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) (2010)
• American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) (2005)