Professor, Founding Chair, UAMS Department of Radiation Oncology When Vaneerat (pronounced Wan-er-a) Ratanatharathon, MD, was one of six children growing up in Bangkok, Thailand, in the 1960s, she didn’t question her entrepreneurial father’s orders to attend medical school.“I grew up very happy with not much thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up,” she recalled, with a laugh. “My father wanted me to go, so I did. I found it to be very interesting and challenging. It wasn’t my choice, but it’s a very good one. I couldn’t think of anything else but being a physician.”Fortunately, two older brothers paved the way for Ratanatharathon to emigrate to the United States – once she got past the initial hurdle.“The difficulty was getting into medical school at a time when very few women were n the classroom,” she recalled. “It was extremely competitive, and you had to pass an entrance exam to see where you landed. I was too young to be nervous! Faculty of Medical Sciences was my first choice, and I landed that one.” She followed her oncologist brothers to Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., where she directed the residency/fellowship training program. One brother directs stem cell research at Wayne State; the other is a medical oncologist and professor at a Bangkok medical school. A board-certified radiologist, Ratanatharathon enrolled in graduate school in the late 1990s, earning an MBA with a certificate in healthcare administration from the University of Miami. Soon after, she heard that UAMS was looking to establish a Department of Radiation Oncology. “I studied for my master’s because I needed a better understanding of healthcare policy,” she said. “When I learned about the UAMS post, I thought it would be an exciting challenge, and very meaningful to set up something that’s lacking and needed. That was the impetus for applying for the position.”In 2000, UAMS brought Ratanatharathon on board. “I mapped out the department infrastructure and went about recruiting faculty,” said Ratanatharathon, who successfully established three divisions – clinical radiation oncology, medical radiation physics and informatics, and biology – and has grown the Department of Radiation Oncology to a team of more than 50 academic and clinically experienced physicians and physicists. The Department has also founded educational and training programs in medical radiation physics and medical dosimetry, the latter in conjunction with the College of Health Related Profession programs. Also, in collaboration with the College of Health Related Profession and CARTI (Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute), the Department faculty assists in the Radiation Therapy Technology program. “With two accredited training programs, we needed to recruit to replenish our manpower in the educational and training program pool,” said Ratanatharathon. “I’m still setting up the residency program in radiation oncology, the culmination of the program.”Ratanatharathon has also served nationally on the American Board of Radiology Task Force for the Development of the Written Examination and as oral board examiner for the American Board of Radiology, and instructor for the refresher course at the Radiologic Society of North America in bone metastases. Since 2001, she has served as a member of the Panel for the Appropriateness Criteria for Bone Metastases for the American College of Radiology. “My favorite part of the job is seeing and caring for patients,” said Ratanatharathon, who has taken a 26-year-old nephew under her wings to help educate him in the U.S. “Administrative work is more challenging.”Despite a hectic schedule, Ratanatharathon has found a unique and colorful way to unwind. In her spare time, she paints with oils – portraits and landscapes. With permission from the Dean of the College of Medicine to do outside work, the Little Rock School District commissioned her to paint a portrait of the late Dr. Don R. Roberts, which is displayed at the Don Roberts Elementary School in West Little Rock. The International Artist Magazine published her work in an instruction book on how to paint landscapes. She’s also exhibited work in shows at Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas, and the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale. “Painting is a wonderful outlet for me,” said. “It’s very therapeutic and fun.”