Paul Harari , MD, FASTRO

University of Wisconsin

Paul Harari, MD, FASTRO, has served as a physician scientist at the University of Wisconsin for 34 years; 17 of those years he served as the department chair. He has worked with radiation oncology physicians, medical physicists, cancer biologists, clinical and research residents, fellows and other trainees. In this expansive career, he is proudest of providing the highest quality care to cancer patients as well as advancing cancer care and research for the next generation of patients, physicians and investigators.

Dr. Harari’s career was fostered by his own mentors who each played a key role in their own ways. Bob Cassady, MD, helped stimulate his clinical knowledge, Gene Gerner, PhD, introduced him to cancer laboratory research, and Jack Fowler, PhD, grew his enthusiasm for radiobiology impacting his work as a head and neck cancer specialist for over 30 years. These mentors inspired Dr. Harari to become a mentor himself through their willingness to teach and guide his early career. “Passing this inspiration and enthusiasm forward to the next generation of trainees has been joyful and rewarding,” Dr. Harari said. Dr. Harari’s mentees regard him in the same way. One mentee stated “Many 'pearls' from the mentorship provided by Dr. Harari have now been passed down to my own mentees, helping contribute to the strength of our field in the future.”

The mentor-mentee relationship is a bi-directional one, and Dr. Harari says that his experience reflects that. His mentees keep him sharp and grounded, “I have learned as much from mentees over the years as I have taught them,” he says. Knowing that his mentees have gone on to achieve great things and impact the lives of thousands of cancer patients is a unique and powerful aspect of his work in the radiation oncology field.