Last modified: Friday, May 13, 2011
IU Health Proton Therapy Center names new medical director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center (formerly Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute) has named James "Jay" Douglas, M.D., as medical director. He also assumes the newly created role of deputy director of IU Cyclotron Operations, which generates the proton beam used to treat patients at the center. Douglas also is on the faculty of the IU School of Medicine.
Douglas brings significant experience to his role at the IU Health Proton Therapy Center. During his tenure as associate professor of radiation oncology, pediatrics and neurologic surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center, he also served as residency program director, co-director of the Gamma Knife Center, and section chief of radiation oncology at Seattle Children's Hospital. In addition, Douglas was director of pediatric radiation oncology at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Seattle Magazine named him one of the best doctors in Seattle for pediatric radiation oncology for five consecutive years.
"Jay brings to his new positions a distinct and mature perspective," said Dr. Peter Johnstone, president and chief executive officer of the IU Health Proton Therapy Center. "He is a widely respected and accomplished pediatric radiation oncologist, and it is our great privilege that he came from as respected a center as University of Washington."
Board-certified in pediatrics and radiation oncology, Douglas specializes in treating pediatric cancers and complex cancers of the head, neck and spine. He is also an international speaker on radiation oncology and the author of eight book chapters and nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts.
Douglas trained in both radiation oncology and pediatric oncology and completed a fellowship in pediatric oncology at the National Cancer Institute. He earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and a master's in medical microbiology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Douglas said he looks forward to treating patients at the IU Health Proton Therapy Center because it is one of a handful of facilities in the country that has a long track record of using protons to treat a wide range of cancers.
"My goals for the IU Health Proton Therapy Center are to continue providing excellent patient care and growing this center," he said.
At the IU Proton Therapy Center, Douglas also plans to devote himself to treating patients, publishing research and talking to physicians across the country about the advantages of proton therapy. "I truly believe we are at the beginning of an era of protons," he said. "I also anticipate that research will eventually show that proton therapy is superior in many ways to conventional radiation therapy in treating certain cancers particularly in children."
The IU Health Proton Therapy Center is a state-of-the-art center offering proton therapy: a highly precise treatment option for treating benign and cancerous tumors. Since February 2004, IU Health Proton Therapy physicians have treated adults and children with both benign and cancerous tumors. The IU Health Proton Therapy Center is owned by Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. and Indiana University Health. For more information, visit iuhealthprotontherapy.org or call 866-487-6774.
