Mitchell Anscher appointed chair of
VCU Radiation Oncology Department
Pamela DiSalvo Lepley
(804) 828-6057
pdlepley@vcu.edu
2/22/2006
Mitchell S.
Anscher, M.D., has been named professor and chair of the Virginia
Commonwealth University Department of Radiation Oncology. The prostate
cancer expert from Duke University joins the VCU School of Medicine on
June 1, 2006.
Anscher, a 1981
graduate of the VCU School of Medicine, will return to his alma mater
from the Duke University Medical Center, where he is professor, vice
chairman and clinical director for the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Anscher is nationally
recognized for his research and clinical programs. He is a fellow of the
American College of Radiology and has been named as one of America’s Top
Doctors for the past five years. In 2001 he received the Outstanding
Medical Alumnus Award from the Medical College of Virginia Alumni
Association.
“We are entrusting
one of the nation’s premier departments of radiation oncology to a
distinguished alumnus,” said Dr. Jerome F. Strauss, dean of the VCU
School of Medicine. “Dr. Anscher’s experience in administration, his
expertise in the treatment of prostate cancer and his productive
research will add additional luster to an already outstanding program.”
Anscher’s research
interests include the molecular biology of normal tissue injury after
cancer therapy and studying ways to reduce the risk of the side effects
of cancer therapy. His clinical expertise is focused on prostate
cancer.
“As one of the better
radiation departments in the country, VCU has built a solid foundation
in research and clinical care,” Anscher said. “The whole university is
on an upswing and I’m looking forward to being part of that.”
He said his immediate
goals as department chair are to fill some key positions and expand
clinical research initiatives.
“We look forward to
Dr. Anscher’s leadership in advancing the mission of the Department of
Radiation Oncology and are pleased to welcome him back home,” said Dr.
Sheldon M. Retchin, vice president for VCU health sciences and CEO of
the VCU Health System.
As chair, Anscher
will head a department of more than 30 radiation oncologists, medical
physicists and scientists who work hand-in-hand with VCU Massey Cancer
Center interdisciplinary teams to provide customized treatment plans for
patients and who conduct major research studies and clinical trials.
Anscher received a
bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1977 and a medical degree
from the VCU School of Medicine in 1981. He continued post graduate
training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn., and was chief
resident in radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center.
Anscher joined the
faculty at Duke in 1987. He has authored 119 papers in peer review
journals, written 13 book chapters and has received numerous awards and
honors.
Anscher’s appointment
as chair follows a national search to replace Dr. Rupert K.A. Schmidt-Ullrich,
who died in December 2004.