Dr. Peter Almond was born in Downton Wiltshire, England in 1937. He received in undergraduate honors degree in physics from Nottingham University in 1958 and training in Medical Physics from Bristol University in 1959. Afterwards, he moved to Houston, Texas and received his Master’s Degree and his doctoral degree in Nuclear Physics from Rice University. He joined the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1964 as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Biophysics; he became an Assistant Professor and Assistant Physics the following year. When he left the institution in 1985, he was a Professor of Biophysics, Head of the Radiation Physics Section, and the Director of the Cyclotron Unit in Department of Physics. From 1985 to 1988, Dr. Almond was the Vice Chairman of Research and Professor in the department of Radiation Oncology at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center of the University of Louisville. Following his retirement, he returned to MD Anderson to teach part-time in the Department of Radiation Physics.
Dr. Peter Almond talks with Dr. James S. Olson and Lesley W. Brunet about the history radiation therapy. He outlines the various treatments including the x-ray, cobolt-60, betatron, magnetron, klystron and cyclotron. He also talks about the emerging field of proton therapy. He also describes the early history of radiotherapy at MD Anderson especially under the direction of Drs. Gilbert Fletcher and Leonard Grimmet.
Portions of this interview have been redacted because of privacy concerns. Please see Archivist for details.
Peter Almond Interview 1, June 4, 2004, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
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Oral history was edited by Jose Javier Franco Garza, Archivist, December 2010.
Oral History Interview conducted between Dr. Peter Almond and James S. Olson and Lesley Brunet on June 4, 2004 in the Research Medical Library Conference Room, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.