The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) selected health-care researcher Jean B. Owen, PhD, as the 2013 Honorary Member, the highest honor ASTRO bestows on distinguished cancer researchers, scientists, and leaders in disciplines other than radiation oncology, radiobiology, and radiation physics. Dr. Owen was inducted as the 2013 ASTRO Honorary Member during ASTRO’s 55th Annual Meeting.
“Dr. Owen’s extensive work in establishing and analyzing benchmarks for optimal care in radiation oncology has been instrumental to the high quality of care our specialty provides cancer patients,” said Michael L. Steinberg, MD, FASTRO, Chairman of ASTRO’s Board of Directors. “Her continuous collaboration with physician investigators, including many ASTRO members, is a testament to her commitment to ASTRO, to radiation oncology and, most importantly, to our patients.”
Work at American College of Radiology
During her 23-year tenure at the American College of Radiology (ACR) Clinical Research Center, Dr. Owen served as project director of the Quality Research in Radiation Oncology (QRRO) project. As the leader of QRRO, she was vital in the development of detailed clinical performance measures and survey processes to measure quality of care benchmarks in radiation oncology nationwide.
“PCS produced national data for the radiation oncology practice that assessed the quality of radiation oncology throughout all types of practices. Over the years, QRRO evolved to address and measure highly specific quality measures in this constantly evolving, technically advanced specialty,” Dr. Owen said. “The major impact was to help create an environment of critical self-assessment within radiation oncology and to build a foundation of quality assessment data that is now embedded within the culture of the specialty.” She added “I am proud to officially become a member of this outstanding organization that I have long felt very much a part of.”
Dr. Owen is currently a health care consultant and is pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Research Ethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in Milwaukee. ■
