Timeline for the Department of Radiation Oncology

 

1964	Dr. Rodney Million arrives at the University of Florida and becomes chair of the Division of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Radiology.
1968	Dr. Tom G. Sawyer is the first radiation oncology resident.
1971	Drs. Tom G. Sawyer, Norman E. Jones, D. Wayne Joiner, and E. Henry Amos are the first graduating class of the Radiation Oncology Residency Program. See the other graduates of the Radiation Oncology program. The first annual UF Radiation Oncology Outcomes Tracking Seminar is held.
1972	Bob Parker is the first visiting professor and keynote speaker at the UF Radiation Oncology Outcomes Tracking Seminar.
1973	The first UF Radiation Oncology Outcomes Tracking Seminar results are published. The department’s Research/Editorial division opens with Patsy McCarty as the first editorial assistant.
1977	Dr. Elizabeth H. Smith is the first woman admitted into the residency program.
1978	The Division of Radiation Oncology receives its first linear accelerator.
1982	Drs. Rodney Million and Nicholas Cassisi, alongside Dr. R. E. Wittes, publish “Cancer in the head and neck” in Principles and Practice of Oncology.
1984	Drs. Rodney Million and Nicholas Cassisi publish the first edition of Management of Head and Neck Cancer: A Multidiscinary Approach.
1985	Drs. Frank Bova and William Friedman begin a collaborative project responsible for establishing the University of Florida’s radiosurgery program.
1987	The Division of Radiation Oncology becomes the Department of Radiation Oncology with Dr. Rodney Million as chair.
1989	The first annual UF Radiation Therapist seminar is held.
1990	Two SL75 and three SL20 Cobalt Philip Linear accelerators, an MHTI CT Simulator, and two Varian Ximatron Simulators are installed.
1992	Dr. Nancy P. Mendenhall becomes the first female chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and the first female chair in the College of Medicine.
1995	Dr. Rodney Million receives the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s Gold Medal Award.
1997	Rupak Das, PhD, is the first student to graduate from the Medical Physics Residency Program. See other graduates of the Medical Physics Residency Program.
2000	The first intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) patient is treated on the Varian 2300CD Linear Accelerator using the CORVUS® treatment planning system.
2004	The first IMRT patient is treated on the Elekta Precise Linear Accelerator using the Philip Pinnacle treatment planning system. The first annual University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute’s Play Golf – Fight Cancer tournament begins to benefit proton therapy research.
2005	Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is first used for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). The first patient is treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatment using the Elekta Synergy-S micro-MLC system.
2006	The University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute (UFPTI) opens in Jacksonville, FL, with Dr. Nancy P. Mendenhall as the medical director. UFPTI is just one of 12 proton therapy centers in the U.S., and the 5th proton center to open in the nation. The first proton patient is treated on August 14, 2006. Dr. Robert J. Amdur becomes the interim chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology.
2007	A Philips Brilliance 16-Slice large-board CT Simulator is installed in the Gainesville clinic.
2008	Dr. Tim R. Williams, a former resident, is named president of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO, now called the American Society of Radiation Oncology). UFPTI is the first proton therapy facility to treat 100 patients per day within 19 months of opening.
2009	Dr. Paul Okunieff is named chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. A study published in the International Journal or Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics names the residents in the UF Radiation Oncology Residency Program the second-most published residents of any US radiation oncology residency program.
2010	Radiation Oncology is awarded 5 stars for customer service. Dr. Paul Okunieff starts the Oligomets program at UF. UFPTI is ranked tenth worldwide in the number of patients treated at a particle therapy center.
2011	The UF Health Cancer Center is the first center in Florida, and one of less than 20 in the U.S., to offer Intrabeam, an intraoperative radiation procedure for patients with breast cancer. The department receives a 100% excellent rating for “Overall Quality for Service and Care Received.” Elekta VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) is used for IMRT.
2012	The Vero radiotherapy system arrives at UFPTI.
2013	The tenth annual UFPTI’s Play Golf – Fight Cancer tournament celebrates raising one million dollars for proton therapy research.
2014	The Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Florida celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2017	The UF Health Proton Therapy Institute (UFPTI) receives the Florida Cancer Center of Excellence Award.
2018	Dr. Nancy Mendenhall, Assoc.Chair of the department and Medical Director of UFPTI, is named Clinical Science Researcher of the Year by the College of Medicine. Philips CT Big Bore begins operation in the Davis Cancer Center.
2020	The Department of Radiation Oncology holds its 50th Spring Research Seminar and celebrates 50 years of residency education. Associate Professor Anamaria R. Yeung, MD becomes the new Physician Residency Program Director.
2021	Department unveils new Philips Ambition 1.5 Tesla MR scanner at the Davis Cancer Pavilion and becomes the first in the U.S. to use of the Philips MR-only radiotherapy simulator, or MRCAT, for treatment planning related to the brain.
2022	UFHPTI treats its 10,000th patient, our Adult Cancer Survivorship Program opens at the Davis Cancer Pavilion, the department becomes the first in Florida to offer Pluvicto, and the cutting-edge 1.5-Tesla MRI-guided linear accelerator, the Elekta Unity, is unveiled in July.