Newswise — ARLINGTON, Va., August 24, 2016 - The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected 44 cancer researchers and clinicians to receive a total of $36,500 in individual awards for studies being presented at the Society’s annual scientific meeting. The recipients will be recognized at ASTRO’s 58th Annual Meeting, to be held September 25-28, 2016, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

“ASTRO applauds the radiation oncology community for continuing an impressive streak of advancing the science of patient care through innovative approaches, strategic collaborations and focused dedication,” said ASTRO President David C. Beyer, MD, FASTRO. “We congratulate the researchers and clinical teams behind the impressive and important work featured in these award-winning abstracts.”

The Resident Clinical/Basic Science Research Abstract Award recognizes the top research from medical residents, with one award for the highest-scored abstracts in each of three categories: clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners receive a $1,500 honorarium, a trophy and a complimentary Annual Meeting registration. The 2016 Resident Clinical/Basic Science Research Award recipients are:

• Thomas Churilla, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia (clinical practice)• Clayton Smith, MD, PhD, Mitchell Cancer Institute, Mobile, Alabama (radiation and cancer biology)• Houda Bahig, MD, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal (radiation physics)

The Basic/Translational Science Abstract Award recognizes lead authors of 11 top-rated basic and translational abstracts in clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners receive a $1,000 honorarium, a certificate and a complimentary Annual Meeting registration. The recipients of the 2016 Basic/Translational Science Abstract Award are:

• Brian Deegan, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (clinical practice)• Felix Feng, MD, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco (clinical practice)• Clemens Grassberger, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (clinical practice)• Philip Connell, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago (radiation and cancer biology)• Alireza Fotouhi Ghiam, MD, MS, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto (radiation and cancer biology)• Sana Karam, MD, PhD, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado (radiation and cancer biology)• James Welsh, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (radiation and cancer biology)• Lanchun Lu, PhD, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (radiation physics)• Sarah Mattonen, BS, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada (radiation physics)• Tokihiro Yamamoto, PhD, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California (radiation physics)• You Zhang, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas (radiation physics)

The Resident Poster Viewing Recognition Award recognizes the highest-rated abstracts submitted by residents that were selected for paper poster presentations, with awards for the top three resident authors in each of three categories: clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners receive a trophy. The 2016 Resident Poster Viewing Recognition Award recipients are:

• Andrew Schumacher, MD, Kaiser Permanente of Southern California, Los Angeles (clinical practice)• Henry Park, MD, MPH, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (clinical practice)• Sonja Stieb, MD, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland (clinical practice)• Philmo Oh, MD, PhD, New York University, New York (radiation and cancer biology)• Nils Nicolay, MD, PhD, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany (radiation and cancer biology)• Kamila Nowak, MD, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia (radiation and cancer biology)• Xiaofeng Yang, PhD, Emory University, Atlanta (radiation physics)• Tawfik Giaddui, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia (radiation physics)• Jonathan Klein, MD, University of Toronto, Toronto (radiation physics)

The Resident ePoster Recognition Award recognizes the highest-rated abstracts selected for digital poster discussions that have residents as the lead author, with one award each for the top abstracts in clinical practice, radiation and cancer biology, and radiation physics. Award winners receive a trophy. The 2016 Resident ePoster Recognition Award recipients are:

• John Vargo, MD, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (clinical practice)• Kamran Ahmed, MD, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida (radiation and cancer biology)• Lauren Henke, MD, Washington University, St. Louis (radiation physics)

The Annual Meeting Travel Award recognizes outstanding research by early career scientists, biologists and physicists. Lead authors of 15 high-scoring abstracts selected for the meeting will receive awards of $1,000 to support travel to the meeting, as well as a certificate and a complimentary Annual Meeting registration. The 2016 Annual Meeting Travel Award winners are:

• Soheila Azghadi, BS, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California (clinical practice)• Pehr Hartvigson, MD, University of Washington, Seattle (clinical practice)• Robert Reznik, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles (clinical practice)• Cameron Swanick, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (clinical practice)• Matthew Ward, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland (clinical practice)• Aadel Chaudhuri, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Stanford, California (radiation and cancer biology)• Diane Ling, BA, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh (radiation and cancer biology)• Karsten Pilones, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York (radiation and cancer biology)• David Raleigh, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco (radiation and cancer biology)• Kailin Yang, PhD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland (radiation and cancer biology)• Michael Connor, BS, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California (radiation physics)• Abbie Diak, PhD, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois (radiation physics)• Matthew Jackson, MD, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado (radiation physics)• George Noid, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (radiation physics)• Talha Shaikh, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia (radiation physics)

The International – U.S. Annual Meeting Scientific Abstract Award provides a $4,000 grant to a radiation oncologist from a developing country, based on the World Bank’s definition, to attend ASTRO’s Annual Meeting and to spend additional time at a comprehensive cancer center in the United States. The award fosters continuing medical education, assists in career development and aids in establishing relationships with ASTRO members who may serve as scientific mentors to the award winner. The recipient is the lead author of an abstract selected for presentation at the 2016 ASTRO Annual Meeting and has a letter of support from the chair/mentor of the U.S. institution that will host the awardee at his or her cancer center. The awardee must submit a written summary of their Annual Meeting participation and the experience garnered at the host cancer center. The recipient of the 2016 International – U.S. Annual Meeting Scientific Abstract Award is:

• XiaoShen Wang, MD, PhD, Fudan University, Shanghai

The Annual Meeting Nurses Abstract Award honors the highest-rated abstracts with a nursing designation. Award candidates must be nurses who are the lead author or co-author of an abstract selected for presentation at the 2016 ASTRO Annual Meeting. Two award winners each will receive a $1,000 honorarium, a certificate and a complimentary Annual Meeting registration. The 2016 Annual Meeting Nurses’ Abstract Award recipients are:

• Molly Olm-Shipman, BSN, RN, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York• Deborah Watkins-Bruner, PhD, RN, Emory University, Atlanta

ASTRO’s 58th Annual Meeting, the nation’s premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology, will be held September 25-28, 2016, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston. The 2016 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees from across the globe, including oncologists from all disciplines and members of the entire radiation oncology team. For more information about ASTRO’s 58th Annual Meeting, visit www.astro.org/AnnualMeeting. For press registration and news briefing information for ASTRO’s 58th 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, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals who 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 three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (www.redjournal.org), Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org) and Advances in Radiation Oncology (www.advancesradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers (www.rtanswers.org); and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a nonprofit 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.