Dr Plenk was born in Vienna, Austria in 1917. Dr Plenk began his medical training at the University of Vienna before coming to the United States in 1938. Dr Plenk completed his medical training at Northwester University School of Medicine in Chicago where he was awarded his M.D.in 1942. Dr Plenk completed his residency in radiology in 1947. Dr Plenk also obtained an M.S. in pathology in 1946. Dr Plenk came to Salt Lake City in 1948 with a faculty appointment to the recently-expanded four-year program of the College of Medicine at the University of Utah. Dr Plenck also was on the staff of both the Salt Lake County General and VA Hospitals. Dr Plenk became head of radiology at St Mark's Hospital in 1952. In 1960, along with colleague Richard Card, Dr Plenk established the first radiation therapy facility between Denver and the Pacific Coast. Along with Eldon Gardner, Dr Plenk discovered an autosomal dominant disorder eponymously named in their honor. Dr Plenk became head of the Department of Radiation Oncology at LDS Hospital in 1969 where he practiced treating patients and educating physicians until his retirement in 1986. Dr Plenk maintained an adjunct appointment as Professor of Radiology at the University of Utah. In 1992, Dr Plenk published Medicine in the Beehive State, 1940-1990 . Dr Plenk died in 2011.