In honor of Paul Godley, MD
Dr. Paul Godley is usually the person behind the camera. His stunning photos of every subject are visual feasts. But his talents as a photographer are paralleled by his talents as a physician/scientist.
“My father was an internist, my mother a public health nurse, and my older sister was in medical school when I was in college, all influences on my decision to have a career in medicine. My mother died of colon cancer when I was in medical school, and that had a huge impact on my choice of medical specialty as well as my research interests in cancer prevention,” he explains.
Paul also cites his UNC career influences: “Dr. Bob Sandler, here in GI, who helped with juggling clinical and research careers; Dr. Vic Schoenbach in Epidemiology who helped shape my research focus; and Dr. Steve Bernard in medical oncology who got me inspired about taking care of cancer patients.”
Paul’s research involves “evaluating whether cancer prevention interventions and cancer treatments really work in the ways we want them to work, preventing death, and increasing quality of life. I’m also interested in investigating why some populations, particularly racial minorities and other underserved groups, have much poorer results from their cancer treatments when compared to the majority population. Most of my clinical and prevention research has focused on prostate cancer.”
“I like working with young physicians and research trainees, but it’s interacting with the wonderful patients and families in and around the UNC Health System that really keeps me going. I’ve learned a lot from individuals facing difficult circumstances and tough decisions with resilience and dignity, and am honored to take care of North Carolina’s cancer patients.”