The University Record, December 7, 1998
Lichter to be recommended as interim dean of Medical School
By Sally Pobojewski
Health Systems Public Relations
Allen S. Lichter, professor of radiation oncology, will be recommended to the Board of Regents at its Dec. 17-18 meeting as interim dean of the Medical School.
“We are very fortunate to have Dr. Lichter’s enthusiastic commitment,” said Nancy E. Cantor, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “His experience as a department chair will be invaluable in this position. My colleagues and I look forward eagerly to working with him.”
“Allen Lichter is an important leader in this Medical School,” said Gilbert S. Omenn, executive vice president for medical affairs. “He has served with distinction as chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology for 13 years. He has created partnerships between the U-M Health System and other area hospitals to bring U-M radiation oncology care to more Michigan communities. Dr. Lichter and I are enthusiastic about opportunities to make a significant impact on Medical School programs and to integrate academic and clinical functions throughout the Health System in the months ahead. He also is committed to enhancing ties between the Medical School and other units across campus.”
Internationally known for research in the treatment of breast cancer, Lichter is the current president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He was chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology in 1984–97, and director of the Breast Oncology Program at the Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1984–91. Before joining the U-M in 1984, Lichter was director of the radiation therapy section of the National Cancer Institute’s Radiation Oncology Branch.
An early advocate of the lumpectomy approach to the treatment of breast cancer, Lichter conducted one of the first clinical trials that found use of lumpectomy and radiation therapy to be as effective as traditional mastectomy treatment. Under his leadership, the U-M developed new three-dimensional X-ray imaging technology, which allows physicians to direct radiation to tumors more precisely and reduce damage to healthy tissue. This pioneering technology is now in use at cancer centers across the United States.
The author of numerous scientific articles and editor of several books on breast cancer, Lichter is co-editor of a 1994 textbook on clinical oncology.
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