Medical partnership welcomes new leadership

Wayne Newhauser has been appointed to lead the medical physics partnership between LSU and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. He succeeds Kenneth Hogstrom, who recently retired after seven years at the helm. Newhauser is considered one of the world's leading medical physics scholars in proton therapy physics. A board-certified and licensed medical physicist, Newhauser earned degrees in nuclear engineering and medical physics from the University of Wisconsin. He worked at the German National Standards Laboratory; the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at Houston. Newhauser has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, leads federal research grants and mentors students and postdoctoral fellows. He also serves in leadership roles of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American Nuclear Society.

Todd Stevens, president and CEO of Mary Bird Perkins, praised both Newhauser and Hogstrom in a statement. "Ken's leadership made the Mary Bird Perkins–LSU medical physics program a shining example of a successful public-private partnership," Stevens says. "And we are delighted that Dr. Wayne Newhauser has now joined us. Under his leadership and expertise, the program will certainly continue to flourish." Hogstrom will serve as professor emeritus at LSU and continue researching and consulting at Mary Bird Perkins. The Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center comprises five centers—in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma and Gonzales—and has been active for more than 40 years. Its partnership with LSU spans 12 years.