ARLINGTON, Va., July 26, 2018 — The members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have elected four new officers to ASTRO’s Board of Directors and four members to serve on the medical society’s Nominating Committee. The newly elected President-elect, Council Vice-chairs and Nominating Committee members will begin their terms during ASTRO’s 60th Annual Meeting in San Antonio this October.

“Radiation oncology has a central role in discussions on safeguarding cancer patients’ access to high-quality, high-value treatments. The dedicated leaders chosen by ASTRO’s 10,000-plus members will help drive these conversations and guide our field on the key issues of education, advocacy, quality and safety,” said Board of Directors Chair Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, FASTRO.

The following radiation oncologists were elected to the Board of Directors:

  • President-elect: Thomas Eichler, MD, FASTRO, Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, Richmond, Virginia
  • Clinical Affairs and Quality Council Vice-chair: Benjamin Smith, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
  • Education Council Vice-chair: Benjamin Movsas, MD, FASTRO, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit
  • Government Relations Council Vice-chair: Howard Sandler, MD, MS, FASTRO, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

Dr. Thomas Eichler (President-elect) is staff physician at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, where he previously served as Medical Director of Radiation Oncology. As President-elect and eventual Chair of ASTRO, Dr. Eichler will continue a career-long commitment to promoting radiation oncology as the leader in quality, innovation and value in multidisciplinary cancer care.

Dr. Eichler has an extensive record of service to ASTRO and the field. A former Chair of the ASTRO Health Policy Council and twice-named ASTRO’s grassroots activist of the year, he now chairs the ASTRO Political Action Committee (PAC). He also is a former Senior Editor of ASTROnews, the Society’s member magazine. 

“I am honored and humbled to be elected as ASTRO’s next President and to work on behalf of ASTRO’s 10,000 members,” said Dr. Eichler.  “I look forward to working collaboratively with my colleagues to advance the field of radiation oncology as we continue to seek advanced treatment options, address priority policy issues and advocate on behalf of all cancer patients.”

Dr. Benjamin Smith (Clinical Affairs and Quality Council Vice-chair) is an associate professor of radiation oncology and health services research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he specializes in treating breast cancer patients. As a member and Chair of the ASTRO Guidelines Subcommittee, Dr. Smith helped lead initiatives to promote quality and safety in cancer care, including ASTRO guidelines focused on breast and endometrial cancer. As Vice-chair, he will guide ASTRO initiatives to improve the quality of patient care, including programs for accreditation, incident learning and clinical guidelines.

Dr. Benjamin Movsas (Education Council Vice-chair) is Chair of the radiation oncology department and the Herndon Endowed Chair in Oncology Research at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute. He has been instrumental in efforts to enhance education and research in radiation oncology and is President of ASTRO’s Society of Chairs of Academic Radiation Oncology Programs (SCAROP) and previous Chair of the standing committees for education and science at the ASTRO Annual Meeting. In his new Board role, Dr. Movsas will steer efforts to provide high-quality, forward-thinking education for ASTRO members.

Dr. Howard Sandler (Government Relations Council Vice-chair) is Chair of the radiation oncology department and the Ronald H. Bloom Family Chair in Cancer Therapeutics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. A longtime contributor to ASTRO’s advocacy initiatives, he currently chairs ASTRO’s Government Relations Committee and previously chaired the ASTRO subcommittee that works with the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). As Vice-chair, Dr. Sandler will lead efforts to maintain ASTRO’s role as the primary source of expertise for government organizations on regulatory and health policy issues relating to radiation oncology.

ASTRO members also elected four physicians and scientists to the Nominating Committee, which prepares the slate of nominees for each of the Society’s elected positions. Newly elected members include John Buatti, MD,

FASTRO of the University of Iowa (Academic Physician Member), Matthew Katz, MD, of Lowell General

Hospital (Community Practice Physician Member), John Bayouth, PhD, of the University of WisconsinMadison (Physicist Member), and George Wilson, PhD, of William Beaumont Hospital (Radiobiologist Member). 

Dr. Eichler will serve a one-year term as President-elect, followed by single-year terms as President then Chair of the Board of Directors. Vice-chairs serve two-year terms, followed by two-year terms as Chairs of their respective Councils. Nominating Committee members serve single three-year terms.

ABOUT ASTRO

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is the world’s largest radiation oncology society, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. 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 three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics, Practical Radiation Oncology and Advances in Radiation Oncology; developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers; and created the nonprofit foundation Radiation Oncology Institute. To learn more about ASTRO, visit astro.org or RTanswers.org, sign up to receive our news and follow us on our blog, Facebook and Twitter.  

Meeting Link: ASTRO’s 60th Annual Meeting, to be held October 21-24, 2018