Dover, Laura

Dr. Laura Dover, MD, MSPH is a radiation oncologist who specializes in treating tumors throughout the body with therapeutic radiation. She grew up in Jasper, AL and attended the University of Alabama, during which time she studied literature at Oxford University in England and at the Universidad de Alacalá in Spain and produced a short documentary on the inadequacies of U.S. healthcare featured in multiple Alabama film festivals. She graduated summa cum laude with Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy and Spanish and was named to the USA TODAY’s All-USA College Academic Team. She then attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society, named a Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Research Fellow, and graduated with honors in 2014. After next graduating from the nation’s premiere oncology internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, NY, she completed her residency training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). During this time she received several grants and was awarded the “Best of ASTRO” distinction for her work in liver stereotactic radiation and also graduated with a Master of Science of Public Health (MSPH) from the UAB Ryals School of Public Health.

Dr. Dover’s clinical experience includes time on faculty at MSKCC from 2019-2022 where she further honed her skills using the latest advanced radiation techniques as her clinic’s radiosurgery lead prior to returning home to accept the Attending Radiation Oncologist  position with Birmingham Radiological Group at the Ascension St. Vincent’s East Cancer Treatment Center. Here she works with cutting edge therapeutic radiation equipment such as ablative stereotactic radiotherapy to deliver radiation treatment with the highest level of precision while minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue.

Much like with chemotherapy, we have come a long way in how we use radiation to treat cancer. With the latest technology she can effectively target a very precise area to control tumors and alleviate associated symptoms while protecting other parts of the body. Her goal is to expand the many ways radiation can prolong and/or improve life for the people she serves in her community. She enjoys sitting down with each patient to create an individualized treatment plan to meet his or her goals for reaching the best outcome with the least disruption to normal life.

Both inside and outside the clinic, she works with colleagues across the country to further improve how radiation can be used to help the people in our care. In the research and technology space, she is co-creator and author of the nation’s most-read radiation oncology daily digest QuadShot News and serves on the editorial board of Practical Radiation Oncology, official journal of the nation’s largest professional organization of radiation oncologists, the American Society of Radiation Oncologists (ASTRO). In the public policy arena, she currently sits on the Government Relations as well as the Education subcommittees of ASTRO. She is also a founding member and former executive committee member of the Society of Women in Radiation Oncology (SWRO).

Publications