Denise Dickey, NP, has been selected as a finalist for the 2021 St Louis Excellence in Nursing Awards. She is only 1 of 3 people selected as finalists within the Oncology category, with 60 finalists overall. Winners will be announced at an April 22 virtual awards celebration. This is a well-deserved honor highlighting the outstanding level of care Denise gives all her patients. Congratulations Denise & good luck!
Outlook Magazine has just released a feature article chronicling the amazing collaboration that many in our Department worked hard to accomplish. Efforts to support Incan in Guatemala with supplies and assistance in many different ways continue to this day.
Brian C. Baumann, MD, assistant professor of radiation oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and a radiation oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center, has been chosen to serve on four national cancer advisory committees.
They are the National Association for Proton Therapy (NAPT) Physician Advisory Committee; National Cancer Institute (NCI) Bladder Cancer Task Force; NRG Oncology Genitourinary Committee; and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology committee.
David Curiel, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, published research in 1995 that was the foundation for the breakthrough vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech.
Jin Zhang, PhD, Instructor of Radiation Oncology, has received a K22 grant award for $438,661 over 3 years from the NIH.
His research title for funding is “HPV alternative splicing in cervical cancer radiation response”. With the K22 Award, Zhang’s lab plans to develop novel HPV genomic tools and examine the prognostic and mechanistic significance of HPV alternative splicing in cervical cancer radiation response.
Zhang has more than 10 years of research expertise in bioinformatics algorithms, big data analytics (omics), and cancer genomics and is also affiliated with Institute for Informatics (I2) and a member of Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Matt Spraker has accepted the role for Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Siteman Cancer Center on the campus of Christian Hospital – Northwest Healthcare (CHNW) effective January 1, 2021.
Congratulations to Borna Maraghechi, PhD and Matthew Riblett, PhD – both have just graduated from the Medical Physics Residency program – December 31, 2020!
Aadel A. Chaudhuri, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of radiation oncology, has received the V Scholar Award from the V Foundation for Cancer Research. This prestigious award supports young tenure-track faculty early in their careers by providing them with $200,000 over two years to support their cancer research.
Dr. Rei-I Chin, resident physician, has received a Seed Grant for her research from the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO). Dr. Chin’s research aims to compare clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of patients with unresectable HCC treated with dose-escalated Y-90 radioembolization vs. MR-guided SBRT.
Dr. Randall Brenneman has been awarded a RSNA Trainee Research Prize for his research project titled “Prospective Study of Same-Day Prostate Fiducial Marker and Rectoprostatic Space Hydrogel Placement and CT/MRI Simulation for External Beam Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer” in the Radiation Oncology category.
Dr. Brenneman will present his research at the upcoming RSNA 2020 Annual Meeting.
Dr. Kylie Kang, resident physician, has received a Seed Grant for her research from ARRO. She aims to establish the feasibility and safety of simulation-free, AI-assisted hippocampal-avoidance whole brain radiotherapy using diagnostic MRI-based treatment planning.
Carl DeSelm, M.D., Ph.D., has received the 2020 Agilent Early Career Professor Award. Dr. DeSelm is an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. This years’ award topic is cellular engineering and analysis—a field that greatly impacts Agilent customers.
Julie Schwarz, MD, PhD, was elected Vice President of the Radiation Research Society and will subsequently become President next year. Dr Schwarz is Director of our Cancer Biology Division and Vice Chair for Research in Radiation Oncology. She is the past recipient of the annual Michael Fry award from RRS. Radiation Research is one of our most important international organizations. RRS Members conduct research in all aspects of Radiation Biology, Hypertherapy, radiation exposures, and other sciences.
We are pleased to announce a change to administrative leadership roles of clinical services.
Dr. Jiayi Huang has accepted the role for Chief of the CNS / Gamma Knife service effective August 1, 2020. He has done a tremendous job fulfilling the role of interim chief of service since October, 2019. Dr. Huang attended medical school at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, and trained in the William Beaumont University residency program. He has been a member of our department faculty since 2012. He has made a number of accomplishments, notably he has led investigations on the use of use of novel drugs in glioblastoma and the late effects of treatment following proton therapy for brain tumors.
These roles plays an important part in our mission to provide outstanding care for our patients, lead clinical trial development and academic initiatives to advance the field of radiation oncology. We look forward to his continued leadership and please join us in congratulating Jiayi.
David Curiel, MD, PhD, the Distinguished Professor of Radiation Oncology, is co-senior author of a new study working to find a COVID-19 vaccine. Unlike other COVID-19 vaccines in development, this one is delivered via the nose, often the initial site of infection. In the new study, the researchers found that the nasal delivery route created a strong immune response throughout the body, but it was particularly effective in the nose and respiratory tract, preventing the infection from taking hold in the body.
Researchers at Washington University are developing a method to diagnose brain tumors using ultrasonic energy — and no incisions. Lead researcher Hong Chen has received $2.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to pursue further study.
Julie K. Schwarz, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Vice-Chair, Research, and Cancer Biology Division Chief, is running for Vice President of the Radiation Research Society. Voting for members only is located here: bit.ly/3kxJ16A
We are excited to offer this new, highly advanced technology to patients throughout the Siteman Cancer Center system. Pencil-beam scanning technology – the most advanced form of radiation therapy available – delivers extremely precise treatments of proton therapy, a type of radiation therapy used to treat cancers of the head, chest, spine and other particularly sensitive areas, as well as pediatric cancers.
Hong Chen, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the Washington University in St. Louis McKelvey School of Engineering and of radiation oncology in the School of Medicine, will address the need for innovative approaches to treating pediatric brain cancer with a three-year, $500,000 grant from the Charlie Teo Foundation.
Congratulations to Stephanie Perkins, MD and Jiayi Huang, MD, who both received Siteman Investment Program grant awards this year.
Congratulations to Pamela Samson, MD, MPHS, for receiving the ASTRO Resident Recognition Award for Poster Viewing!
Congratulations to Michael Prusator, PhD, for receiving the ASTRO Resident Recognition Award – Quick Pitch.