Dr. Alisa Walz Flannigan

Biography

Alisa Walz-Flannigan earned her doctorate in applied physics from the University of Michigan. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in nuclear medicine at Johns Hopkins University and her residency in diagnostic medical physics at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. As the Imaging Physics Residency program director in the Department of Medical Physics at UW–Madison, she plays a vital role in the education of medical physics residents. Before joining UW–Madison in 2025, Dr. Walz-Flannigan served as a consultant medical physicist in the Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and as the section head for Medical Physics Radiation Safety at Marshfield Clinic Health System in Wisconsin. Her expertise encompasses clinical medical physics leadership in various imaging modalities, particularly in informatics operations, radiographic image quality, CT protocol optimization, and MR-safety in breast imaging. She has taught medical physics courses to residents and fellows while mentoring medical physics staff. An active member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), she has contributed to standards development efforts with the American College of Radiology (ACR). Dr. Walz-Flannigan is also dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, having led Mayo Clinic's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex Mayo Employee Resource Group and participated in the Mayo LGBT Health Care Task Force.

Research Interests