David L Schwartz MD FACR

Recognized as one of the nation’s foremost experts in the innovation and delivery of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, Dr. Schwartz brings an academic focus coupled with clinical excellence to West Cancer Center’s Radiation Oncology team. In addition to his clinical role, Dr. Schwartz will also serve as the Vice Chair and a Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UTHSC, working with West and University leadership to elevate quality education and research within the department. He will also serve as the founding Director of the Center for Health Equity in the Department of Radiation Oncology, with a focus towards development of patient-facing technology to improve the quality and availability of cancer care for all patients across the Mid-South. Prior to joining West Cancer Center, Dr. Schwartz served as an Associate Professor and the Service Line Chief for the Head & Neck Radiotherapy Service, Department of Radiation Oncology, at the University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine in Dallas, Texas. He has founded or directed several residency training programs in Radiation Oncology. Dr. Schwartz is a member of key national research steering committees, including the National Cancer Institute’s Previously Untreated Locally Advanced (PULA) Head and Neck Cancer Committee, and the Core Committee for Head and Neck Cancer at NRG Oncology. He has been repeatedly named to ‘Best Doctors’ and Castle Connolly ‘Top Doctors’ Lists, and was elected as Fellow of the American College of Radiology in 2015. He is active in committee leadership at the American Society of Radiation Oncology in the fields of Health Informatics and Cancer Disparities. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Schwartz is the recipient of federal, state, foundation, and industry grants focused on advanced cancer imaging, targeted radiosensitization, stereotactic radiotherapy, mobile digital health, and clinical treatment trials. He led the first trial to study adaptive radiotherapy for head & neck cancer, sponsored by the NCI. He most recently led the first trial to test stereotactic radiotherapy for larynx cancer, sponsored by the CPRIT program of the State of Texas, and will continue to collaborate with the U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX to make this available to patients here in Memphis. His research had been published in many high-impact journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Cancer, Radiotherapy & Oncology (the ‘Green Journal’), and the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics (the ‘Red Journal’), among others. He has contributed/edited several textbooks and has presented numerous keynotes, educational lectures, and abstracts to national and international scientific society meetings, such as the American Society of Radiation Oncology, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, the Keystone Conferences, and the International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer.