SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 12, 2008) — Randal A. Otto , M.D., has been named physician in chief of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio effective immediately, announced William L. Henrich, M.D, M.A.C.P., dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs. Dr. Otto will be responsible for the CTRC’s daily clinical operations, a role he has fulfilled on an interim basis since March 2008.
Dr. Otto stated, “My job is to make sure that the patient’s needs come first and that we live up to the high standards of being a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. This means we offer patients access to the latest, best and potentially most effective drugs. And it means that patients come to one location to visit all of their cancer care professionals, including the medical doctor, surgeon, radiation therapist, nurse, nutritionist, social worker, psychiatrist and other health professionals.”
A specialist in head and neck cancers, Dr. Otto is professor and chair of the department of otolaryngology, a post he has held for seven years, and the Thomas W. Folbre, M.D. Endowed Chair in Otolaryngology. In addition to his administrative and active surgical practice, Dr. Otto conducts innovative and translational cancer research.
Dr. Otto attended the University of Missouri School of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. He was a member of the department of otolaryngology at the University of Florida in Gainesville before being recruited to the UT Health Science Center in 1989. He has received a number of distinguished awards including an honorary service award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, election to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and repeated recognition in lists of “America’s Top Doctors,” “Best Doctors in America” and “Top Doctors For Cancer.”
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug studies program in the world. IDD has participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.