New chair sees bright future for ECU radiation oncology

GREENVILLE, N.C.   (Jan. 14, 2013)   —   Dr. Eleanor Elizabeth Harris sees a lot of potential in the Department of Radiation Oncology at East Carolina University. 

Harris joined the Brody School of Medicine late last year as professor and chair of the department. She came to Greenville from Tampa, Fla., where she was an associate professor at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and a member of the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. 

“There’s so much opportunity here,” she said. “The department is really on a growth trajectory.” She cited figures that put cancer as the No. 1 cause of death in eastern North Carolina and said she looks forward building a regional network of state-of-the-art cancer services as well as increasing cancer screening and prevention efforts. 

Harris has a medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She completed residency training in radiation oncology and a fellowship in cell and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania. 

She said the opportunity to lead a growing department, oversee an increasing research enterprise and provide care in the region helped recruit her to ECU.

Harris is board-certified in radiation oncology and is included in Best Doctors’ listing of the nation’s top physicians. Her clinical and research interests are breast and gynecological cancers. 

“Dr. Libby Harris’ background and experience speak for themselves,” said Dr. Paul Cunningham, dean of the Brody School of Medicine.

“But even in the short time that she has been here, we are impressed by how much she has improved the morale within the Department of Radiation Oncology. To a person, the faculty and staff have had nothing but positive things to say about Dr. Harris.”