The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected four early career scientists to receive a total of $275,000 in research awards, including one winner of the ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award and three recipients of ASTRO Resident/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grants. All winners will be recognized at ASTRO’s 58th Annual Meeting, September 25–28, 2016, in Boston.
ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award
This award gives early career physicians and researchers the opportunity to develop careers and focus on research relevant to radiation oncology, biology, or physics. One junior faculty member was selected for this award, which provides $100,000 annually for 2 years.
Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD
The 2016 grant recipient is Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD, of Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Dr. Markovina served as Chief Resident and participated in the Holman Research Pathway during her clinical residency in radiation oncology at Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She joined the faculty there as a physician scientist in 2015, and she is building her lab to study molecular mechanisms of radiation resistance in solid tumors, with a clinical focus on treating patients with anal cancer. Dr. Markovina is interested in understanding molecular mechanisms of radiation resistance in cervical cancer and other solid and human papillomavirus–related tumors. She will be investigating the role of the lysosome in tumor cell response to radiation.
ASTRO Resident/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Award
This award supports residents or fellows who are planning a career in basic science or clinical research in radiation oncology. Three researchers were selected for this award, which provides $25,000 per recipient for 1 year. The three 2016 recipients are:
- John Floberg, MD, PhD, Resident, Washington University/Barnes-Jewish Hospital. With his ASTRO seed grant, Dr. Floberg aims to develop a predictive biomarker for cervical cancer. He will investigate the use of functional imaging methods to assess the state of cervical cancer cells and predict how tumors will respond to therapies designed to enhance radiation sensitivity.
- Chirayu G. Patel, MD, MPH, Radiation Oncology Resident, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Patel will use his seed funding to investigate altered tumor metabolism, particularly tumor reliance on the amino acid glutamine, as a mechanism of radioresistance in non–small cell lung cancer.
- Cheng-Chia ‘Fred’ Wu, MD, PhD, Radiation Oncology Resident, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. With his ASTRO grant, Dr. Wu will investigate whether disruption of the blood-brain barrier with focused ultrasound can enhance the effects of checkpoint inhibitor–targeted therapy and the abscopal effect in the brain. ■
John Floberg, MD, PhD
Chirayu G. Patel, MD, MPH
Cheng-Chia ‘Fred’ Wu, MD, PhD
