Professor Emeritus of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University School of Medicine
Passed by the IUPUI Faculty Council at their meeting on January 10, 2012.
Dr. James G. Morphis, II died on November 30, 2011. His untimely passing has saddened his many friends, family and colleagues. This remarkable man will always be remembered for his great kindness, love of the outdoors, and passion for sailing.
Jim was born in Spokane on August 20, 1949, to James Godfrey Morphis and his wife, Jeannine. His early childhood was spent on a small farm on the Little Spokane River with his younger siblings Bob, Tom, and Jennifer. Summers were spent at Priest Lake, Idaho, water skiing and sailing. Jim graduated from Upper Columbia Academy. During his high school years, he learned to fly an airplane and completed his cross-country solo flight. In 1972 he graduated from Walla Walla College with a BS in biology with the intention of becoming a marine biologist. He reconsidered this career choice after a summer studying the sex life of sand fleas during rainstorms.
Jim entered Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California and graduated with an M.D. degree in 1975. After his intern year, he entered into residency training in Therapeutic Radiology, at Loma University School of Medicine and completed his studies in 1979. His sons James Godfrey III and Heath Jerome were born during this time.
Dr. Morphis moved his family to Mooresville, Indiana, in 1980, and joined the faculty of the Department of Radiation Oncology in the IU School of Medicine. He served as Clinical Director in the Department from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2004. Dr. Morphis also served as Interim Chair and the William A. Mitchell Professor and Chair from 2004 to 2007.
While his early work involved studies of combining hyperthermia with X-rays for tumor treatment and his main area of clinical focus during his time at IU was the treatment of breast cancer; Dr. Morphis was instrumental in the early development of the IU Cyclotron Facility for high-energy proton treatment of cancer. Working with his medical physics colleagues Drs. George Sandison and Chuck Bloch, the first cancer patient was successfully treated at IUCF with protons under Dr. Morphis’ guidance in 1993. In 1997, Dr. Morphis began a collaboration with Clarian Health ophthalmologists to treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) with protons at IUCF. Those critical early years of development of the clinical proton beam at IUCF eventually lead to the current “state of the art” proton therapy facility (the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute), which is now called the IU Health Proton Therapy Center in the Department of Radiation Oncology at IUSM.
Dr. Morphis was a long-time member of both the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He gave scientific and clinical presentations at national meetings and published a number peer-reviewed abstracts and papers over the years in a variety of subjects including: hyperthermia combined with radiation; treatment of local-regional recurrence in cancer of the breast; the Indiana University proton radiation therapy project; and the first Phase 1 studies of the combination of Gemcitabine with radiation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
In addition to all of the above, Dr. Morphis was a gifted clinician, teacher, and mentor. His medical students, residents, junior faculty, and patients will always remember his intelligence and practical approach to problem solving, as well as his kindness and gentle manner. In 2008, Jim and his wife Debbie retired and moved to Post Falls, Idaho, to a condo overlooking the Spokane River. This enabled Jim to reconnect with family and devote time to his favorite passions of sailing, hiking, painting, and ceramics. Jim was a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend who will be greatly missed and remembered.
Be it resolved that this memorial resolution be presented to the Faculty Council of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and that copies be sent to his wife Deborah Morphis, his sons, his parents, his sister, and his brothers.
Dr. Marc S. Mendonca
Dr. Higinia R. Cardenes
Dr. Mark P. Langer
Dr. Joseph R. Dynlacht