Baylor College of Medicine recently created a new department devoted to radiation oncology, and with that announced a new interim chairman, Dr. Mark Bonnen.

Dr. Mark Bonnen

Bonnen has been on the radiology faculty at Baylor since 2012, specializing in radiation oncology. Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean at Baylor, announced his new role in July 2014. He also serves as program director for the radiation oncology residency program and medical director of the Harris Health System’s Attwell Radiation Center at the Smith Clinic.

“I am honored to be selected to lead Baylor’s efforts in radiation oncology,” Bonnen said. “We have so many opportunities to strengthen and expand on our current education, research and clinical efforts in radiation oncology. We already have a strong foundation with our current radiation oncology faculty and we plan to grow that practice.”

On the research side, Bonnen, also a member of the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center has published on the use of radiation therapy in breast cancer, prostate cancer, head & neck cancer, lung cancer and gastrointestinal cancer.

He received his medical degree from The University of Texas Health Science Center Houston in 1999 (prior to medical school, Bonnen worked as a physicist in the nuclear industry before switching gears to medicine), followed by an internship in internal medicine at Baylor and residency in radiation oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Bonnen served on the MD Anderson faculty from 2004 to 2006 before founding and serving as President of South Texas Radiation Therapy Associates.