NRG Oncology (NRG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adults with cancer through multi-center clinical research, recently announced it added two new Chairs to the organization’s Lung Cancer Committee and Imaging Committee.
Kristin Higgins, MD, was appointed as Chair of the NRG Lung Cancer Committee. Dr. Higgins is a thoracic radiation oncologist at City of Hope and the Chief Clinical Officer at the City of Hope Atlanta Cancer Center. Dr. Higgins has been a long-time member of the NRG Lung Cancer Committee and the Principal Investigator of the successfully accrued NRG-LU005 phase III clinical study testing the addition of atezolizumab to standard of care chemoradiation in limited-stage small cell lung cancer. The results of her trial were presented during the Plenary Session at ASTRO 2024 and discussed in-depth during an NRG Oncology Podcast episode. In addition to her work within the lung cancer-specific areas of NRG, Dr. Higgins is also a member of the NRG Board of Directors, serving as one of the Board’s General Directors. She is an active member of the NRG Communications and Protocol Operation Management Committees. She also is a Board member and the Communications Committee Chair for one of NRG’s legacy groups, the RTOG Foundation.
Dr. Higgins will succeed Dr. Jeff Bradley as the Lung Cancer Committee Chair at the time of the Group’s semiannual meeting in July. NRG greatly appreciates the many efforts of Dr. Bradley advancing lung cancer research within the organization and globally. Dr. Bradley will remain active within NRG and helping accrual to NRG lung cancer trials.
Karthik Sundaram, MD, PhD, was appointed as Chair of the NRG Imaging Committee. Dr. Sundaram is an Assistant Professor of Radiology in the Abdominal Imaging Division at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His expertise covers abdominal and pelvic magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging as well as MR-guided minimally invasive treatments for prostate cancer. His research interests are broadly related to molecular imaging approaches to detect and treat disease. Prior to being appointed Committee Chair, Dr. Sundaram was a member of the NRG Imaging Committee. He is also currently involved within NRG’s organization as an Imaging Committee liaison to the NRG Gynecologic Cancer Committee and it’s subcommittees as well as the Imaging Chair of the NRG-GU012 “SAMURAI” trial of stereotactic radiotherapy with immunotherapy in advanced renal cell cancer. In addition to his involvement in NRG, Dr. Sundaram is currently grant funded to explore ovarian cancer detection and treatment using photoacoustic agents with fluorescent properties. Dr. Sundaram will work alongside the recently selected NRG Imagining Committee Vice-Chair, Dr. Clifton (Dave) Fuller on the committee’s priorities.
Dr. Sundaram will be taking the place of Dr. Daniel Pryma who previously served as the NRG Imaging Committee Chair. NRG is grateful for Dr. Pryma’s dedication to enhancing the imaging components of our NRG trials and his partnership with our disease site committee investigators.
NRG looks forward to the continued advances of the group’s research through the leadership and guidance of these individuals in their new roles.
Current NRG Oncology openings for leadership and committee applications can be found on the website at www.NRGOncology.org/Current-Openings
About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to carry out clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.