UAB Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology James A. Bonner, MD, announces the appointment of Robert Allan Nordal, MD, MSc, FRCPC, as assistant professor of radiation oncology and associate scientist in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Nordal was recruited from Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

Dr. Nordal completed an honors degree in physics from McGill University in Montreal and BSc specialization certificate in genetics and MD degree at the University of Alberta. He interned at Regina General Hospital of the University of Saskatchewan, where he also obtained external funding and conducted cancer epidemiology research.

Dr. Nordal received his clinical training in radiation oncology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He held a clinical and research fellowship in radiation oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, where he earned a master of science degree in medical biophysics at the University of Toronto. His thesis research was on central nervous system radiation injury, and he has authored numerous publications on radiation responses in the central nervous system, among other topics.

His research interests include vascular responses to radiation and optimizing tumor targeting and combined modality treatment in lung and central nervous system tumors.

Dr. Nordal's research endeavors have won him a number of prestigious honors and awards. Most recently, American Society of Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology (ASTRO) Basic Science Travel Awards; the Chair's Award and R.S. Bush Award for Excellence in Research from the University of Toronto Department of Radiation Oncology;

ASTRO-Gordon Research Conference Young Investigator Award; and the American Association for Cancer Research Scholar in Training Award. Based on his research proposal, he received a Mayo Clinic Clinician-Investigator Award to fund his project.

Dr. Nordal is certified in radiation oncology by the American Board of Medical Specialties and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

He may be reached at 975-0222; e-mail rnordal@uabmc.edu.