Meet Your Fellow Members
This series celebrates the people behind the profession and offers an opportunity to learn from and connect with MRTs working in a wide range of settings from coast to coast! Every Monday, we’ll introduce you to a different medical radiation technologist from somewhere across Canada. This week’s member spotlight is Christina “Chris” Zeller, RTT, ACT.
This feature is a special one and a sneak peak into our most recent newsletter 44.2. At CAMRT 2026, the Life Membership award was presented to
Christina “Chris” Zeller, RTT, ACT. Learn more about the MRT behind the award and the professional journey that shaped her career and led to this well-deserved recognition.
| Know someone we should highlight? Let us know at maiello@camrt.ca |
Can you tell us about your career path and what initially inspired you to become a MRT?
Like many others, I graduated from high school and went to University because that is just what you do, but that first year of university I struggled with what my goals were in studying various courses. What I did learn was that I was most interested in social sciences but still did not feel a calling to one area of study. I started to research not just University but College programs as well, and that is where I found the radiation sciences. Of the three at the time, I thought radiation therapy was the most interesting, and I still feel like that was the best decision for me.Chris Zeller Grad pic Sept 1984
Looking back, what do you consider the most significant accomplishment of your career?
Probably having a degree program for radiation therapists becoming a reality in Manitoba. I worked closely with colleagues in radiological technology and medical laboratory technology on a multi-discipline program structure, but the politics of the day stalled that initiative. Luckily, we had some great champions who helped radiation therapy navigate options that resulted in a Diploma/Degree Program for Radiation Therapy through CancerCare Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg. Not only that, but the University was willing to work with us on a Degree Completion Program for previous graduates of the diploma program we had been offering. To see a significant number of my colleagues enroll in the program, while working and raising their families, was inspiring. To look back and know that we did that together makes me very proud.
How did it feel when you found out you were receiving the Life Membership Award?
To have Jenna MacLaine as the CAMRT President tell me was fantastic; I was the MAMRT President who welcomed her into our profession- I knew then she was special, and it made it that much more meaningful to me.
What advice would you give to someone just starting their career in medical radiation technology?
Take one day at a time and focus on doing your job well, but keep looking ahead and setting new goals. I feel like I changed jobs many times over the years, while staying with one employer. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out a bit, and be prepared for setbacks- big and small. I think volunteering is very under-rated; be it at your place of employment to take on new tasks, or with your kids and their activities, or with your professional association. Each experience teaches you something that you can build on. For me, the connections I made through CAMRT and at the provincial level often crossed over; I feel like I’ve had a strong safety net under me my entire career because of all those kindred spirits.
Is there a particular moment or story from your career that really stands out to you—something that reminds you why you chose this path?
I’ve had students and their families that I first met when I was working in the clinical environment before moving into education and administration; years later, they remembered me specifically for the care I provided, and that led to radiation therapy as a career choice for their family members. To think that I had that profound an impact, when I was just “doing my job,” reminds me of how important every contact can be and makes me know this choice was the right one.
What are your hopes for the future of the profession and the CAMRT?
If you had told me 40 years ago how different my profession would look, and the variety and scope of practice would change, I could not have imagined it. More than a hope, I have a belief that the CAMRT will thrive in the future, and that each of the disciplines will develop- with some merging and diverging happening- but always growing stronger.