Newswise — Fairfax, Va., September 3, 2013 – The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected 10 distinguished members to receive the Fellow of ASTRO designation (FASTRO). The 2013 class of Fellows will receive the recognition during the Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, September 24, at ASTRO’s 55th Annual Meeting, September 22-25, 2013, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Awarded annually since 2006, the Fellows Program honors radiation oncology leaders who have been an ASTRO member for at least 15 years, who have contributed the equivalent of 10 years of service to ASTRO and who have made substantial contributions to the field of radiation oncology in the areas of research, education, patient care or service, and leadership. Including the 2013 class of 10 Fellows, 212 of ASTRO’s more than 10,000 members worldwide have received the FASTRO designation.

Candidates are nominated by a current ASTRO Fellow and supported by three additional ASTRO members. A nine-member Fellows Selection Committee reviews all of the nominations and presents a slate of recommended Fellows to ASTRO’s Board of Directors for final approval.

“These 10 new Fellows join an elite group of ASTRO members who have significantly impacted ASTRO, the specialty and cancer patients worldwide through their leadership in and service to research, education and patient care efforts,” said ASTRO President Colleen A. F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO. “Congratulations to my esteemed colleagues on receiving the ASTRO Fellow designation.” The members of the 2013 Fellows class are:• Jonathan J. Beitler, MD, MBA, professor of radiation oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta• Phillip M. Devlin, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston• Thomas J. Eichler, MD, medical director of radiation oncology, Thomas Johns Cancer Hospital, Richmond, Va.• Silvia C. Formenti, MD, chairman of and professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, New York University School of Medicine, New York• Stephen M. Hahn, MD, chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology and Henry K. Pancost Professor of Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia• Geraldine M. Jacobson, MD, MPH, MBA, founding chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.• Tariq Altaf Mian, PhD, director of medical physics, Medical Radiation Physics Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz.• Bhudatt R. Paliwal, PhD, professor of human oncology and medical physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.• Seth A. Rosenthal, MD, attending radiation oncologist, Radiation Oncology Center and Sutter Cancer Center, Roseville, Calif.• Peter B. Schiff, MD, PhD, vice-chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology and associate chairman for translational research, New York University School of Medicine, New York For more information about ASTRO’s 55th Annual Meeting, visit www.astro.org/annualmeeting.

For press registration and media policies for ASTRO’s 55th Annual Meeting, visit www.astro.org/AMpress.

ABOUT ASTROASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologist, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that 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 two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (www.redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non-profit 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 www.astro.org.###