Chairman's Welcome

Welcome to the Department of Radiation Medicine

Chairman Charles R. Thomas, MD We appreciate your interest in our education, research, and clinical programs. Established in the early 1960's as the first independent department of radiation oncology based in a U.S. medical school, our program is an integral component of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, an NCI-Designated Clinical Cancer Center.

Over the past four decades, my predecessors, Drs. William Allen (1964-1972), William Moss (1972-1989), and Kenneth Stevens (1989-2005), have trained two generations of practicing radiation medicine physicians.

The department was one of the first to publish a large experience of preoperative radiotherapy for rectal cancer, now considered part of combined-modality standard of care for this common tumor.

The department's graduates have consistently performed in the upper quartile of the American Board of Radiology certification examinations. In addition, in the summer of 2007, we moved into a state-of-the-art, 17,000 sq ft facility by the end of year on the 4th floor of the Peter O. Kohler Pavilion.

In addition to maintaining our high standard of patient care, our program is singularly aligned with the long-term goals of the Knight Cancer Institute leadership as the only academic health center in the state of Oregon. Simply put, we are committed to training the next generation of leaders in academic radiation medicine. The interdisciplinary nature of cancer medicine is consistent with a culture of collaboration across specialties, departments, schools, and institutions.

I welcome you to check out our website and to contact us for more information about our department. Within this dynamic academic enterprise of robust clinical, educational, and research initiatives, resides a diverse community of scholars and clinicians who work in concert with some of the most dedicated radiation medicine staff in the Pacific Northwest.

I look forward to welcoming you to OHSU and sharing our department with you.