Five physicians receive ASTRO grants for radiation oncology research

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has awarded five physicians with one of two grants-the Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award and the Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant Award. Winners were selected by ASTRO's Research Evaluation Committee.

The Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award is awarded 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 a board-eligible physician or physicist in radiation oncology or a radiobiologist who is within the first three years of his or her junior faculty appointment. This is a two-year award in the amount of $100,000 per year. This year's recipients are Abhijit Patel, MD, PhD, at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and David Kozono, MD, PhD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

The Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant Award is given to support residents or fellows who are planning a career focusing primarily on basic science or clinical research. The grants are awarded each year for a one-year project and are in amounts of up to $25,000 each. This year's recipients are Michael Pacold, MD, PhD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Young Cha, MD, PhD, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and David Lee, MD, PhD, at William Beaumont Hospital Research Institute in Royal Oak, Mich.

"Recipients of these awards go on to be the future leaders in research and make great contributions to the specialty of radiation oncology and to ASTRO; I'm confident this year's winners will uphold that tradiation," Anthony L. Zietman, MD, chairman of the ASTRO Board of Directors and a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said. "Congratulations to this year's awardees."