David John de Harter, MD, Recognized for Contributions to Radiation Oncology

With more than four decades of professional work, first in the US Navy and afterward in oncology, Dr. de Harter was a radiation oncologist with Mid-Florida Radiation Oncology Associates prior to retirement. In this position he directed the St. Lucie Cancer Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. He was honored as a Middleton Fellow of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in 2012. Throughout the course of his career, Dr. de Harter has held leadership positions in a number of medical, philanthropic, and civic organizations, including the American Cancer Society, Sheldon Art Museum, Millicent Rogers Museum, City of Omaha Parks and Recreation, City of Omaha Art in Public Places and Omaha Public Library. He has also held a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine and The University of Arizona School of Medicine.

Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. de Harter attended the Salvatorian Seminary, where he graduated summa cum laude. He initially joined the Jesuit Order and served as a novice until he became very ill. In recovery, Dr. de Harter encountered a doctor who steered him toward a medical career. He went on to receive an MD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1968. Upon completing formal education, Dr. de Harter began serving in the U.S. Navy as a physician. He advanced to the rank of lieutenant commander prior to his honorable discharge from active service in 1972. 

A diplomate of the American Board of Radiology, Dr. de Harter has been licensed to practice medicine in Florida since 1996. He previously completed a residency in radiation oncology and fellowship in radiotherapy through the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). In this position, Dr. de Harter was credited with developing a system for more accurate delivery of radioactive sources, among other achievements. In recognition of his contributions to the scientific community, he was invited to attend the XI International Cancer Congress of the UICC, where he presented this novel approach and project in 1974. His research project was also selected to win first prize in the MDACC Annual Clinical Training Research Project Competition. Published in the proceedings of the Cancer Congress and in the Journal of Radiology, this system was used in patient treatment at the MDACC in Houston, Texas, and later at Stanford Medical Center in California. It became the basis of a product approved for clinical use, entitled "Rapid Strand for Prostate Brachytherapy." Since the inception of his career, Dr. de Harter has authored and co-authored a number of academic papers, particularly reports of altered schedules of cranial radiation for patients with malignant melanoma metastatic to the brain.

Although the private practice of medicine does not allow for much in the way of invention, Dr. de Harter has maintained a reputation for innovation. While serving as the department director at the Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, he was noted for improving on the design of the Siemens linear accelerators target for the 20 Mev unit. In addition, Dr. de Harter has been credited with designing and implementing a large and busy radiation treatment center in Omaha. He was the founding director of a radiation treatment center in Norfolk, Nebraska, a center built to honor the comedian Johnny Carson's parents.

Following 17 years of private practice in Omaha, NE, Dr. de Harter sold his practice to join Doctor Douglas Colkitt's Equi-Med Corporation. He initially served as the director of the Cancer Center of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and Sedona, Arizona, while also holding a teaching appointment with the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. de Harter went on to direct the Treasure Coast Cancer Center and Florida East Coast Cancer Center in Port Saint Lucie and Fort Pierce, Florida. Throughout the course of his accomplished career, Dr. de Harter has formed many positive memories as a physician. He is grateful for the blessing and privilege of having served the most deserving patients, those with cancer.

A loving husband and proud father, Dr. de Harter has enjoyed traveling with his wife, Diane Leigh née Kuebler. Together, they have enjoyed traveling, collecting art, theater and cinema, dining and their lake home. Since retirement, Dr. de Harter and his wife have enjoyed their club, its golf course, their boat, their church, and most of all, their family. As active philanthropists, they benefit the University of Texas MDACC through their involvement with the Phoenix Fund, de Harter Prize for Excellence in Clinical Training Research, and Gilbert H. Fletcher Memorial Distinguished Chair. In addition, they remain active with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, Jesuit Order and University of Florida School of Engineering. As another suitor sang:

"Sometimes the lights all shinin' on me;

Other times I can barely see.

Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip it's been."

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