Kathryn E. Hitchcock, MD, PhD, and Nancy P. Mendenhall, MD, FACR, FASTRO, have been named Interim Co-Chairs of the University of Florida College of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, effective April 4, 2025.
Dr. Mendenhall (left) is a professor and current Medical Director of the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonville. A University of Florida College of Medicine faculty member since 1985, she formerly served as chair of the department from 1993-2006. Dr. Mendenhall has nearly 30 years of experience and specializes in the areas of breast cancer, Hodgkin’s disease, lymphomas and pediatric cancers, prostate cancer, and other malignancies.
Dr. Hitchcock (right), a clinical associate professor, also serves as Medical Director for the UF Health Radiation Oncology – Davis Cancer Pavilion, Gainesville, and as an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. A faculty member since 2017, Dr. Hitchcock specializes in translational engineering research (instrumentation and microfluidic systems), clinical therapeutic studies in head and neck cancers, genitourinary cancers, and gastrointestinal cancers. She currently leads the department’s radiopharmaceutical program.
Drs. Mendenhall and Hitchcock will serve as co-chairs as the college launches a national search for a new department chair. They replace Dr. Paul Okunieff, who will focus on the research efforts of the Okunieff Lab and its study of the normal tissue effects of radiation and the prevention and mitigation of radiotoxicity.
As COM Interim Dean Jennifer Hunt, M.D., M.Ed. relayed on March 17, 2025, under Dr. Okunieff’s 16-year leadership as former chair, the Department of Radiation Oncology championed innovative research, achieved national recognition and incorporated new technologies to improve the quality of care available to patients. The department has also advanced leading-edge treatment with the 2022 unveiling of the Elekta Unity, the first of its kind in the southeastern U.S. and one of only 42 MRI machines worldwide with real-time imaging capabilities for precise, adaptive radiation therapy. This technology was patented in the UF Department of Radiation Oncology.
In January 2024, Dr. Okunieff received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence from the Emerald Coast Medical Association, a Florida-based professional organization committed to promoting excellence in health care delivery and education.
In addition to his academic and research achievements, Dr. Okunieff’s leadership service extends to roles within the medical community. He served as director of the University of Florida Cancer Center for four years.
“The UF Health Radiation Oncology team is prepared to take big strides forward in these next few years,” said Dr. Hitchcock. “We have the expert leaders at all levels and the technical resources to improve on our existing reputation as a worldwide leading institution in our field, and that is exactly what we intend to do. I’m excited for all of us and for what our future holds.”
