News Release

ASTRO honors 43 researchers with Abstract Awards at its 2017 Annual Meeting

Grant and Award Announcement

American Society for Radiation Oncology

ARLINGTON, Va., August 31, 2017 - The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected 43 recipients to be presented with one of its 2017 Annual Meeting Abstract Awards. These individuals will be recognized for their top-rated research abstracts at ASTRO's 59th Annual Meeting, taking place September 24-27 in San Diego.

"ASTRO's Annual Meeting attracts the most impactful science in the field of radiation oncology, and ASTRO is proud to recognize the researchers and clinical teams behind this cutting-edge work," said ASTRO President Brian D. Kavanagh, MD, FASTRO. "It is always difficult to narrow down the list of award winners from the large pool of excellent submissions, and we appreciate all of the great work in the field of radiation oncology being done around the world. We salute these 43 award winners who stood out for their innovative science."

The Resident Clinical/Basic Science Research Abstract Award recognizes the top research from medical residents, with one award for the highest-scored abstracts in each of three categories: clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners receive a $1,500 honorarium. The 2017 Resident Clinical/Basic Science Research Award recipients are:

  • James Bates, MD, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida (clinical practice)
  • Aadel Chaudhuri, MD, PhD, Stanford Cancer Institute, Palo Alto, California (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Sanjay Aneja, MD, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut (radiation physics)

The Basic/Translational Science Abstract Award recognizes the lead authors of 12 top-rated basic and translational abstracts in clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners, who are a mix of junior and senior investigators, receive a $1,000 honorarium. The recipients of the 2017 Basic/Translational Science Abstract Award are:

  • Erica Bell, PhD, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (clinical practice senior investigator)
  • Christopher Corso, MD, PhD, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut (clinical practice junior investigator)
  • Narek Shaverdian, MD, University of California, Los Angeles (clinical practice junior investigator)
  • Anurag Singh, MD, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York (clinical practice senior investigator)
  • Sophia Kamran, MD, Harvard University, Boston (radiation and cancer biology junior investigator)
  • Fei-Fei Liu, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto (radiation and cancer biology senior investigator)
  • Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University in St. Louis (radiation and cancer biology junior investigator)
  • Catherine Park, MD, University of California, San Francisco (radiation and cancer biology senior investigator)
  • Hao Han, PhD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California (radiation physics senior investigator)
  • Sang Ho Lee, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (radiation physics junior investigator)
  • Gang Yin, PhD, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Chengdu, China (radiation physics junior investigator)
  • Hao Zhang, PhD, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore (radiation physics senior investigator)

The Annual Meeting Travel Award recognizes outstanding research by early-career scientists, biologists and physicists. Lead authors of 15 high-scoring abstracts selected for the meeting will receive awards of $1,000 to support travel to the meeting. The 2017 Annual Meeting Travel Award winners are:

  • Rohann Correa, MD, PhD, London Regional Cancer Program, Western University, London, Canada (clinical practice)
  • Shrinivas Rathod, MD, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada (clinical practice)
  • Antoine Schernberg, MD, Hôpital Tenon, Paris (clinical practice)
  • Monica Serban, MSc, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark (clinical practice)
  • Shankar Siva, PhD, MBBS, FRANZCR, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia (clinical practice)
  • George Grass, MD, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Kathy Han, MD, MS, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Wen Jiang, MD, PhD, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Jonathan Leeman, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Harish Vasudevan, PhD, University of California, San Francisco (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Mireia Crispin-Ortuzar, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (radiation physics)
  • Penny Fang, MD, MBA, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (radiation physics)
  • Olga Green, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis (radiation physics)
  • Giuseppe Palma, PhD, Italian National Research Council, Institute of Biostructure and Bioimaging (radiation physics)
  • Leith Rankine, MS, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (radiation physics)

The International Annual Meeting Scientific Abstract Award provides a $4,000 grant to a radiation oncologist from a developing country, based on the World Bank's definition, to attend ASTRO's Annual Meeting and to spend additional time at a comprehensive cancer center in the United States. The award fosters continuing medical education, assists in career development and aids in establishing relationships with ASTRO members who may serve as scientific mentors to the award winner. The recipient is the lead author of an abstract selected for presentation at the 2017 ASTRO Annual Meeting and has a letter of support from the chair/mentor of the U.S. institution that will host the awardee at his or her cancer center. The awardee must submit a written summary of their Annual Meeting participation and the experience garnered at the host cancer center. The recipient of the 2017 International Annual Meeting Scientific Abstract Award is:

  • Indranil Mallick, MD, Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, India

The Resident Poster Viewing Recognition Award recognizes the highest-rated abstracts submitted by residents that were selected for paper poster presentations, with awards for the top three resident authors in each of three categories: clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. The 2017 Resident Poster Viewing Recognition Award recipients are:

  • Corbin Helis, MD, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (clinical practice)
  • Chan Woo Wee, MD, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea (clinical practice)
  • George Q. Yang, MD, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (clinical practice)
  • Linda Chen, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Michael Farris, MD, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Jenna Kahn, MD, Virgnia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Sanne Blinde, MD, Erasmus MC Center Institute, Rotterdam, Netherlands (radiation physics)
  • Seung Hyuck Jeon, MD, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea (radiation physics)

The Resident ePoster Recognition Award recognizes the highest-rated abstracts selected for digital poster discussions that have residents as the lead author, with one award each for the top abstracts in clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. The 2017 Resident ePoster Recognition Award recipients are:

  • Richard Cassidy, MD, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta (clinical practice)
  • Ariel Marciscano, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore (radiation and cancer biology)
  • Noah Kalman, MD, MBA, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (radiation physics)

The Annual Meeting Nurses Abstract Award honors the highest-rated abstract with a nursing designation. Award candidates must be nurses who are the lead author or co-author of an abstract selected for presentation at the 2017 ASTRO Annual Meeting. The award winner receives a $1,000 honorarium. The 2017 Annual Meeting Nurses' Abstract Award recipient is:

  • Antonia Pryor, MSN, RN, FNP-BC, A0CNP, Texas Oncology, Dallas

###

For more information about ASTRO's 59th Annual Meeting, visit http://www.astro.org/AnnualMeeting. For press registration and media policies for ASTRO's 59th Annual Meeting, visit http://www.astro.org/AMPress.

ABOUT ASTRO'S ANNUAL MEETING

ASTRO's 59th Annual Meeting, the nation's premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology, will be held September 24-27, 2017, at the San Diego Convention Center. The 2017 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees from across the globe, including oncologists from all disciplines and members of the entire radiation oncology team. More than 2,800 abstracts sharing results from clinical trials and other research studies will be presented in conjunction with educational sessions and keynote addresses that underscore the meeting's theme, "The Healing Art and Science of Radiation Oncology." Led by ASTRO President Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, FASTRO, the 2017 meeting will feature keynote addresses from Richard D. Zane, MD, FAAEM, Chief Innovation Officer for the University of Colorado Health System; Lucy Kalanithi, MD, FACP, widow of Paul Kalanithi, MD, the best-selling author of "When Breath Becomes Air," with Heather Wakelee, MD, her late husband's oncologist; and Vinay K. Prasad, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University. During the four-day meeting, more than 200 exhibitors will demonstrate cutting-edge technology and medical device innovations for radiation oncology. Visit us online for more information about ASTRO's 59th Annual Meeting or press opportunities at the meeting.

ABOUT ASTRO

ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology

  • Biology
  • Physics, Practical Radiation Oncology and Advances in Radiation Oncology; developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute, a nonprofit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org.


  • Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.