The department extends a warm welcome to incoming radiation oncology residents Don Cannon, MD, and Tim Kruser, MD.

Dr. Cannon received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York, N.Y., and his bachelor's degree in physics from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Dr. Kruser received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wis., and his bachelor's degree in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.

The UW Department of Human Oncology will host the Eighth International Conference on Dose, Time and Fractionation in Radiation Oncology on September 13-15, 2009 at The Edgewater Hotel in Madison. This three-day conference is designed to meet the needs of radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiobiologists, medical physicists, therapists, biological modelers, dosimetrists, and other health care professionals interested in radiation oncology.

The invited national and international faculty and the UW Department of Human Oncology host faculty will present an update of the current status of multi-modality targeted cancer therapy. New research opportunities will be identified and their relevance to clinical practice in radiation oncology will be emphasized. A special session will honor several of the leading pioneers in the discipline of radiation oncology: Jack Fowler, PhD; Eric Hall, PhD; and Rodney Withers, MD.

Proffered papers will be accepted and selected by the program committee. The deadline for submission of
 one-page abstracts for proffered papers (no special format requirements) is June 30, 2009. Speakers for the 8th ICDTF seminars are invited to send their presentations to Michelle Anderle at anderle@humonc.wisc.edu

For more information, visit the ICDTF Website

The UWHC Radiation Oncology Clinic achieved the distinction of a Star Performer Clinic six times from July 1, 2004 through January 31, 2009. This distinction is awarded to clinics identified in the Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction survey that achieve an overall satisfaction rating at or above the 90th percentile, when compared to our academic peers who also use the Press Ganey Survey.

Along with bragging rights, Radiation Oncology-like all Star Clinics-received a cash award. Rather than spend the money on themselves, staff donated $1,540 to the Gail and Gordon Derzon Endowment Fund for Patients.

University of Wisconsin medical physicist Wolfgang Tomé, PhD, presented a plenary lecture at the 9th International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society Congress held June 7-11, 2009, in Seoul, South Korea. Dr. Tomé’s plenary lecture was on the selection of patient specific fractionation schedules for stereotactic body radiotherapy for early stage lung cancer. About 600 radiation oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, physicists, nurses, residents and exhibitors participated in the congress.

University of Wisconsin (UW) radiation oncology resident Derek McHaffie, MD, was selected as a recipient of a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group travel award to attend the RTOG semi-annual meeting in Chicago, IL, June 25 – 28, 2009. Dr. McHaffie also received the Ulrich Henschke Award to attend the American Brachytherapy Society 2009 School of GYN Brachytherapy, June 28-29 in Chicago. The school provides training on the fundamentals of brachytherapy for cervical, endometrial, and vaginal cancer by world-renowned experts from the U.S. and France.

Dr. McHaffie received his medical degree from East Tennessee State University College of Medicine and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee.