Proton Center


July 23, 2026

UAMS Faces Obstacles in its Efforts to Save Proton Center of Arkansas

Yavonda Chase

The Proton Center of Arkansas is a partnership between Proton International, UAMS, Baptist Health, and Arkansas Children’s. The Proton Center is located in the UAMS Health Radiation Oncology Center on the main UAMS campus.

LITTLE ROCK — While the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is working to save the Proton Center of Arkansas (PIA) from closure, numerous obstacles continue to imperil the operation, said UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D.


August 8, 2025

A Voice Recovered: Physician Fights Larynx Cancer with Proton Therapy

Marty Trieschmann

Mahlon Maris, M.D., completes proton therapy

When longtime Harrison, Arkansas, family physician Mahlon Maris, M.D., began experiencing hoarseness in late 2023, he chalked it up to a bad bout of COVID-19 and the lingering inflammation that can sometimes follow. But months passed, and his voice still hadn’t returned. It was the first sign that something more serious was going on. “I…


June 13, 2025

Father’s Cancer Battle Inspires Son’s Research

Marty Trieschmann

Father’s Cancer Battle Inspires Son’s Research

When Don Tackett learned that he had prostate cancer, his first call was to his son, Alan. “It was difficult to hear,” said Alan Tackett, Ph.D., a leading UAMS cancer researcher whose life’s work collided with his father’s health that day. “I’m used to researching cancer, but not my father being a cancer patient,” said…


June 28, 2024

Proton Center of Arkansas Marks 100th Patient Milestone

Marty Trieschmann

Proto 100th Patients

Arkansas’ first and only proton radiation center has treated 100 patients since opening in September 2023. To commemorate the milestone, Carson Placker, 7, of Mountain Home, and Bob Sanders, 71, of Conway, rang the end of treatment bell together June 14, surrounded by their physicians and family. Though 64 years apart in age, the two…


April 19, 2024

Fort Smith Retiree Heading to Disney World after Successful Proton Therapy for Brain Tumors

Marty Trieschmann

Female caner patient Malinda Larey standing in hallway of Proton Center

In November 2023, Malinda Larey, 67, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was all set to jump on the retirement travel bandwagon when she was unexpectedly diagnosed with atypical meningioma. Meningiomas are tumors that grow from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Patients can have a range of symptoms — from none to severe seizures,…


October 6, 2023

UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to Hold Oct. 27 Proton Symposium

Marty Trieschmann

photo of molecules

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute will host the state’s first symposium on proton therapy, Oct. 27. The free event, entitled “Proton Therapy: The Forefront of Cancer Treatment,” will run from 8 a.m. to noon in the Walton Auditorium on the 10th floor of the UAMS Winthrop P….


September 27, 2023

UAMS, Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International Open State’s First Proton Center

Marty Trieschmann

people ringing bells

The Proton Center of Arkansas opened today at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), becoming the first proton therapy center in Arkansas and only the 43rd in the nation to provide the most advanced cancer radiation treatment in the world. Proton therapy is a cutting-edge form of radiation that uses positively charged proton…


July 18, 2023

UAMS Opens New Radiation Oncology Center; Proton Therapy Coming Soon

Marty Trieschmann

UAMS leaders, Little Rock mayor and Arkansas Governor cut a ceremonial red ribbon

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute opened a new Radiation Oncology Center today with expanded capabilities to provide advanced radiation treatments for children and adults with cancer, including the state’s first Proton Center. The $65 million, 58,000-square-foot structure at 3900 W. Capitol Ave. in Little Rock was built…


January 9, 2023

Proton Radiation Physicist Joins UAMS Department of Radiation Oncology

Marty Trieschmann

Dr. Wen Chien Hsi

Wen Chien Hsi, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as an associate professor of physics specializing in proton beam radiation therapy. Hsi will work in the Proton Center of Arkansas, a partnership of UAMS, Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International that will provide…


October 20, 2022

Cyclotron for State’s First Proton Center Arrives at UAMS

Marty Trieschmann

key equipment for the proton radiation center is installed

Completion of a $65 million expanded University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Radiation Oncology Center that will house Arkansas’ first Proton Center marked an important milestone Oct. 20 with the arrival and installation of the Proton Center’s cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator that serves as a key piece of equipment. “UAMS is proud…



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