New UNC Chair

[IRISH22]

For those who havent heard about the unfortunate situation, the current chair at UNC (Sartor) has been ill and had to step down as chair. They were without a chair as of my visit recently; however, I just got an email from the PD which informed me that Larry Marks is taking the Chair position.

What do you think this means for UNC. For Duke? Any insiders have something to say?

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[Brim]

For those who havent heard about the unfortunate situation, the current chair at UNC (Sartor) has been ill and had to step down as chair. They were without a chair as of my visit recently; however, I just got an email from the PD which informed me that Larry Marks is taking the Chair position.

What do you think this means for UNC. For Duke? Any insiders have something to say?

The hell??

 

[trublu]

I don't imagine this will have a huge impact on Duke, where the chairman seems to have things running quite smoothly.

My (biased) opinions on what this means for UNC:

Pros

- He's a smart guy. He knows a ton about physics and normal tissue injury.
- He's nice.
- He's receptive to feedback and works hard to improve things that need to change.

Cons

- He's not a believer in the importance of biology for the future of our field.

 

[stephew]

that con wont be a huge con unless youre going to see the dismantling of a radiobio program that already exists there.

 

[CNphair]

I don't imagine this will have a huge impact on Duke, where the chairman seems to have things running quite smoothly.

My (biased) opinions on what this means for UNC:

Pros

- He's a smart guy. He knows a ton about physics and normal tissue injury.
- He's nice.
- He's receptive to feedback and works hard to improve things that need to change.

Cons

- He's not a believer in the importance of biology for the future of our field.

Hmmm, "nice" isn't the description I would have used. Smart, hardworking, and an asset to the field - yes. But a pleasure to work with - not so much.

 

[Thaiger75]

As far as what having Dr. Marks as the new chair means for the residency candidates...I think it's a good thing. He is well-liked by his peers and is a big international name. He will have a brand-spanking new cancer hospital and $50 million/year given to the cancer center by the state to play with. How his vision of UNC in the upcoming years pans out will no doubt be dictated by who he brings in. UNC's greatest need is a GU attending, and I'm sure that will be high on his priority list. It will be interesting to see who he brings with him or brings from the outside.

Don't know him personally (my interaction with him was a brief 20 min group discussion), so I can't speak for how it is to work with him.

In reference to steph's last statement, generally speaking though, the preferences and biases of a chair (big bio vs physics/technology person), I think does bear important impact on the department as a whole. A hardcore molecular bio chair will push the department and its resources to thrive in that atmosphere and the same for a technology oriented chair.

Not sure what was meant by the earlier statement that he is not a big "bio" person....

 

[trublu]

In reference to steph's last statement, generally speaking though, the preferences and biases of a chair (big bio vs physics/technology person), I think does bear important impact on the department as a whole.

Agree 100%. And I suspect UNC rad onc junior faculty with basic science aspirations may face an increasingly uphill battle in the coming future.

 

[radonc]

dr marks is actively hiring junior faculty, as there have been several happenings over the past 6 months. one junior faculty went into private practice, dr sartor stepped down as chair (?clinical duties too?), and dr varia is semi-retired. at present, they only have 1 asst professor MD on staff (3 full prof, 2 assoc prof).

5 phd biologists, 7 phd physicists. anytime a new chair come along there is the thought he will rock the boat, but most dont. he is making a move from an institution down the street, no big shake up in his life, and i doubt there will be much re-organization within the dept.

along with all this, they are ready to hire new faculty and have a strong foundation already to grow upon. its only going to become a better prorgam with marks at the helm, in all divisions.

 

[kimplera]

I agree with the previous poster that there is a strong foundation on which to grow. This is an exciting time at UNC. The department has a new cyber knife and is planning on replacing several linacs in the next few years. In additional to a new cancer hospital scheduled to open by 2010, the state has committed $50 million /year to UNC Chapel Hill for cancer research. This is not money to be shared among the other UNC schools and is not directed toward other endeavors. I suspect that this money will be attractive to translational researchers considering UNC.

While it is certainly true that UNC is "top heavy" I don't think that Dr. Marks has committed to hiring junior or senior faculty. It is not clear what Dr. Sartor's clinical duties will be going forward. Dr Varia is not semi-retired. He continues to carry a full clinical service. There are several clinical needs in the department including a full-time GU attending (the aforementioned junior faculty who left for private practice was running this service) and another head and neck attending.

 

[radonc]

While it is certainly true that UNC is "top heavy" I don't think that Dr. Marks has committed to hiring junior or senior faculty.

i was forwarded an email last week regarding dr marks interest in hiring junior faculty...

Subject: Inquiry from Dr. Marks/Duke University
>
>
>
>
> TO: All ADROP Members
>
> Dr. Marks has requested that the following note be circulated to the ADROP membership. Please respond directly to him.
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------------
>
> Dear All:
>
> If you know of any good residents still in search of a job for this coming summer, please let me know.
> Thanks
>
> Larry Marks
>
> Lawrence B. Marks, M.D.
> Banks Anderson, Sr., M.D., Professor of Radiation Oncology
> Professor and Residency Program Director
> Department of Radiation Oncology
> Box 3085
> Duke University Medical Center
> Durham, NC 27710
> 919-668-5640 (phone)
> 919-668-7345 (fax)