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Iowa Health – Des Moines named Daniel Kollmorgen, a surgical oncologist with The Iowa Clinic and member of the John Stoddard Cancer Center board of directors, as the medical director of the Stoddard center. In his new position, Kollmorgen brings a clinician’s view to administrative work, in addition to his roles as a surgeon and teacher for general surgery residents.

How did you get into the medical field?

My father was a surgeon. He trained in Des Moines and was a surgeon at (Iowa Methodist Medical Center) for 30 years. He retired in 2001 and I joined him in 1998. I tease him that when I got here, he stopped doing nights and weekends; he was the senior guy at that time. We enjoyed the three years that we were able to work together.

What do you specialize in?

I am a surgical oncologist, so that is where a lot of the cancer focus comes from. After I was at the University of Utah for general surgery for five years, I went to Roswell Park Cancer (Institute) in New York and came here in 1998.

What responsibilities came with the medical director title?

It formalized what I had been doing, a hospital-wide effort to coordinate the services at the John Stoddard Cancer Center. As medical director, I am trying to bring a clinician’s view to some of the administrative roles and problems and to really coordinate. Even though I am a surgeon, I am checking in on how things are going with data collection, with chemotherapy and with radiation, and filling the gaps with patients to make sure they get to their appointments. (I also monitor) quality issues, trying to measure what we do and keep track of that.

What is your career background?

I grew up in Urbandale, graduated in 1982 and went to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. I started out playing for the football team, but ended up on the crew team for four years. I left Dartmouth and came back to Iowa to the University of Iowa medical school and then went to Utah and then to New York.

Did you always want to come back to Iowa?

I always thought it was a possibility. When I finished medical school, I did not want to train in Des Moines and under my father. I wanted to see the world and be trained in a different way. If I did come back, I wanted to be able to provide some fresh perspective. I challenge a lot of my colleagues around the country that professionally they cannot match my job. I am involved in teaching, some research and in a variety of complex cancer cases and care. It is very difficult to go somewhere where you can have all that and still have the efficiency of a private practice.

How did you determine what you wanted to specialize in?

I think my interest in cancer goes back a long way. I can remember childhood neighbors where a young mother died unexpectedly and remember what a devastating thing that was to that family. That had an effect on me. And the other side of it is a more academic interest. It is an incredibly exciting field, and yes, every day there are sad and difficult things, but there are also those victories that just keep you coming back, one patient making it though and having their family there with them, it makes the battle worthwhile.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I just chase my kids around. I have an almost 13-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter, and they are very active in sports and school. So I go to their basketball and soccer games, and help coach a fifth-grade girls’ basketball team.

Do you think you will teach later in your career?

Yeah, I have even thought about at some point going back and teaching in high school or something like that. I enjoy that. I teach at church, I teach at work with residents, I teach at home with the coaching. I just enjoy working with younger people and watching the light come on.