Dr. Slawson is a 1962 graduate of the School of Medicine of the State University of Iowa. He spent 8 years as a medical officer in the United States Army and had training in Radiology and Radiation Oncology while on active duty, ultimately serving as Director of Radiation Oncology at Walter Reed General Hospital.  In 1971 he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, and remained there in the Department of Radiation Oncology until retirement in 1998, although he still worked  in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the medical school on a part-time basis until December 31, 2021 when he finally retired permanently.  He is currently a Master Docent at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD, where he assists in research efforts and lectures on Civil War Medicine and related topics as outreach for the Museum.  He has presented and published on several topics in Civil War Medicine including a book on African American physicians in the Civil War.  Dr. Slawson is a member of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Society of Civil War Surgeons.