Five physicians receive ASTRO research grants to promote advancement of radiation therapy

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has awarded five physicians with research grants to promote the continued advancement of radiation therapy-the Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award and the Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant Award. Recipients were selected by ASTRO's Research Evaluation Committee.

The Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award was established to stimulate interest in radiation research early in academic career development by giving junior physician faculty the opportunity to focus on research in radiation oncology, biology, physics or outcomes/health services research. It is presented each year to board-eligible physicians or physicists in radiation oncology or radiobiologists who are within the first three years of their junior faculty appointment. This is a two-year award in the amount of $100,000 per year. This year's recipients are Nicole L. Simone, MD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, and Susan McCloskey, MD, MSHS, at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant Award was established to support residents or fellows who are planning a career focused on basic science or clinical research to support a pilot project related to radiation therapy. The grants are awarded each year for a one-year project and are in the amount of $25,000 each. This year's recipients are Daniel J. Ferraro, MD, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Aparna H. Kesarwala, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and David Weksberg, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

"Providing these leaders of tomorrow with the necessary funding for their valuable research is essential for the radiation oncology field," said Leonard L. Gunderson, MD, MS, FASTRO, chairman of the ASTRO Board of Directors. "It is very rewarding to know that these grants are going to physicians whose research will make a lasting impact on our field."