Helen Vodopick-Goswitz, M.D.
On July 8, 2025, Helen Vodopick-Goswitz, M.D., passed away at the age of 94. As one of ORAU’s early pioneers, serving in what was then known as the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies’ (ORINS) Medical Division and a key figure in the history of the ORINS Cancer Hospital, Dr. Vodopick made tremendous contributions to the early years of nuclear medicine. In her honor, we wanted to share a little more about her life and career at ORAU.
Her Beginnings with ORAU
Dr. Vodopick’s journey to ORAU was initially born out of pure happenstance. After marrying her husband, Dr. Francis Goswitz, the couple moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where they completed their internships and residencies at University of Iowa hospitals. There were few opportunities for female physicians in the early 1960s, but Vodopick’s dedication to never give up hope and always stay positive carried her throughout life, including her path to ORAU. Her chance to make a difference as a female physician came in an opportunity made possible by ORINS’ Gould Andrews, M.D.
“It's interesting how things happen,” said Vodopick in a 2013 interview with the Oak Ridge Oral History Project. “My husband went to a meeting in California and happened to run into Dr. Andrews. He said, ‘There is an opening in Oak Ridge for someone to work in the Special Training Division,’ which is the division in which many physicians from all over the country come to get trained in the use of equipment for radioactive material, their application, and their disposal. My husband was very interested in that position, and [Andrews] said if he came, I would have to have a job, too. I was fitted into the Medical Division of ORINS at that time; so I worked in the Clinical Division, and he worked in the Training Division initially.”
Born in Milwaukee, Wis., Vodopick graduated from Marquette University in 1956 after completing premed and medical school at Marquette Medical University (now the Medical College of Wisconsin). Francis Goswitz was a fellow medical school classmate, and the two got married a day before their graduation. At that time, a “doctor draft” saw him sent to Fort Campbell, Ky., to serve in the U.S. Army for two years. Discussion on the base began to circle around the exciting developments being made further east in Oak Ridge, Tenn. As fate would have it, Vodopick would soon learn a lot more about the work being done at ORINS. After bouncing around various universities and occupations, she would ultimately find her home in the “Secret City” as a key player in the early days of ORINS alongside her husband.
Vodopick’s Early Years With ORINS
Vodopick began her time in the ORINS Clinical Division under the tutelage of Marshall Brucer, M.D., who was part of the team that was working toward the merging of nuclear energy and cancer research. According to ORAU: From the Beginning, the program included an initial group of 15 patients at the ORINS Cancer Hospital. At the same time, Brucer was conducting nuclear research. While not every cancer patient was admitted to these early treatment sessions, a union was formed between medicinal and developmental practice, all in the name of a humanitarian future in energy.
In the United States, ORINS was an early trailblazer in the field of nuclear medicine. In fact, the ORINS Cancer Hospital was one of three facilities across the country established by the Atomic Energy Commission after the end of World War II and the Manhattan Project to explore the use of radioisotopes in cancer treatment. The other hospitals were located near Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago and Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York.
Vodopick’s early days saw contributions to radioactive iodine as well as gallium-67, which proved to be a valuable tracer of developing malignancies in the human body. The ORINS medical staff first developed gallium-67 as a scanning agent for locating soft-tissue tumors. Then, in the early 1980s, staff determined how it could be used in a diagnostic procedure for finding postoperative infections. Specifically, Vodopick’s role was centered around the development of experiments for use in immunology. Most of Vodopick’s patients, who received these treatments, lived long lives and regularly came back for visits years later.
Vodopick’s Career Continues
In 1974, the U.S. government shut down the ORINS Cancer Research Hospital, because the pioneering work in nuclear medicine that had been done there ultimately became much more commonplace in hospitals across the United States.
Oak Ridge Medical Clinic
After their time with ORINS, Vodopick and her husband were able to stay in Oak Ridge and continue to make an impact on the community. They founded the Oak Ridge Medical Clinic (ORMC), which served patients until its closure in 2017.
According to her obituary, during the 1970s and early 1980s, Vodopick, alongside Dr. Liselotte Sigmar and Dr. Elaine Bunick, was one of only three female physicians at Methodist Medical Center, paving the way for future generations of women in medicine. Her specialties included oncology and hematology, and the study of tumors and blood diseases to improve treatment.
A Personal Impact
Vodopick’s attention to her patients is one that spanned decades. To her, those individuals were lifelong investments rather than a box to be checked off.
“So, we had a fair number of patients that we have followed through the years,” said Vodopick during an interview with the Oak Ridge Oral History Project in 2013. “I just had one lady die this past week that I've treated since 1976. She was 92 years old, and when I pulled her chart out of the rack to put it away, I found that her chart measured 9 inches in thickness. I tell the patients, we've both grown old together.”
In addition to being an amazing advocate for patient care, Vodopick was also a caring mother to a daughter and two sons. While science may have been her forte, it wasn’t forced on her children. One of her sons is a realtor, the other in business, with only her daughter going into the medical field as a physician. Once settled in Oak Ridge, Vodopick and her family saw no reason to leave. All of them were very heavily involved in the life of the city, her husband a participant in the American Cancer Society while Vodopick was furthering the fight against cancer through her work at Methodist Medical Center.
While happenstance may have brought Vodopick to Oak Ridge, it seems that conviction is what made her stay. We at ORAU will always remember and honor the incredible life of Dr. Helen Vodopick, and we thank her for laying the groundwork for many women in science and medicine today. She was truly a trailblazer, and her legacy will live on for years to come.
Sources:
- Oak Ridge Public Library
https://oakridgetn.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15388coll1/id/321/rec/2 - ORAU: Then & Now Blog
https://www.orau.org/blog/people/orau-historical-spotlight-the-story-of-marshall-brucer.html - The Oak Ridger
https://www.oakridger.com/story/news/local/2010/07/23/from-radiation-studies-to-family/63350720007/ - Knoxville News Sentinel
https://www.knoxnews.com/obituaries/pokr1226161 - ORAU Annual Reports
- ORAU: From the Beginning
https://orau.org/about/book/from-the-beginning.html