Kristi Tonning, Ph.D., is the Director of the Radiation Therapy Program and associate professor. She graduated from OHSU in 2001 and moved to Stavanger, Norway until she returned to the Pacific NW and joined the OHSU faculty in July 2015.

Dr. Tonning’s interest in patient education and virtual reality is the basis of her current and ongoing research. Notably, in 2016 Dr. Tonning oversaw the installation and curricular implementation of the Virtual Environment for Radiation Therapy Training (VERT) for student education at OHSU. She later led the development and implementation of a patient education project, bringing virtual reality patient education to the Tuality/OHSU Cancer Center and to patients attending the annual Northwest Sarcoma Foundation Patient Education Conference. Dr. Tonning also has a passion for youth outreach and provides hands-on educational sessions for programs such as On Track OHSU!, Discovery Careers, Knight Scholars Programs, CURE Program and Equity Research Program, to introduce youths to healthcare opportunities.

Nationally, Dr. Tonning currently serves as Director on the JRCERT Board of Directors, and on the Executive Board for ROECSG, and Radiation Therapist Editorial Review Board. She has also served on multiple American Society for Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) committees, the Advance Practice in Radiation Therapy (APRT) Working Group, and has served as a Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) site visitor.