Special thanks to Charles Catton and Marcus Sonier for this story.
Research Day 2014 showcased some of UT DRO’s brightest members. Charles Catton, the Fellowship Director, felt that this year’s event saw “excellent engagement and participation of the trainees from all the disciplines: radiation oncology, physics, therapy, and research.” He also appreciated the depth, breadth, quality and scientific importance of the presentations as well as the poise and professionalism of the presenters. Overall, Dr. Catton felt that Research Day 2014 was an excellent showcase of the academic accomplishments of all the junior members of UT DRO.
For trainees, this day is both informative, and inspiring. Marcus Sonier, Chief Physics Resident, felt that Research Day was an enjoyable and educational experience. “It was nice to see the diversity of our department, and the commitment of each individual to their research.” He appreciated that the audience was supportive of the research being showcased and asked thoughtful questions. “I met UT DRO members from various centers and heard about their expertise and concerns for where further research is needed. Learning about these issues, both biological and physical, regarding cancer therapies and how they are being addressed was fascinating.”
In addition to the poster displays and the presentations, this year’s Research Day also included an interactive discussion on the UT DRO Strategic Plan. Led by David Jaffray, Vice Chair of Research, this discussion helped provide feedback which will shape the direction of the next phase of the strategic plan.
Keeping up with tradition, several awards were selected during Research Day, and handed out at the Post-Graduate Ceremony in June.
W.J. Simpson Award For Academic Excellence in Research by a Radiation Oncology Resident Adam Gladwish Title: Does the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Value Predict Disease Recurrence in Patients with Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Treated with Radical Chemoradiation? Authors: Gladwish A, Milosevic M, Fyles A, Foltz W, Becker N, Jiang H, Levin W, Manchul L, Han K.
R.S. Bush Award For Academic Excellence in Research by a Radiation Oncology Fellow Alejandro Berlin Title: NBN Gain Is Predictive for Adverse Outcome Following Image- Guided Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer Authors: Berlin A, Lalonde E, Zafarana G, Sykes J, Lam W, Meng A, Milosevic M, van der Kwast T, Boutros P, Bristow R.
J.R. Cunningham Award For Academic Excellence in Research by a Physics Resident Marcus Sonier Title: Implementation of VMAT for Kidney SBRT Authors: Sonier M, Chu W, Lalani N, Korol R
Richard P. Hill Award For Academic Excellence in Research by a Graduate Student Priscilla Lai Title: Design and Characterization of Gold Nanoparticle Brachytherapy Seeds for PBSI Authors: Priscilla Lai, Eli Lechtman, Shahram Mashouf, Christina Kim, Emily Wong, Ahmad El-Falou, Azza Al-Mahrouk, Gregory Czarnota, Jean-Philippe Pignol
Best Poster Award for a Postgraduate Trainee Kate Barrett Genetic polymorphisms associated with radiation-related esophagitis and pneumonitis following definitive treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Authors: Barrett, Katherine, Xu, Jingxiong, Kim, Su Woon, Boyd, Kevin, Cheng, Dangxiao, Chen, Zhuo, Bezjak, Andrea, Sun, Alex, Cho, John, Brade, Anthony, Leighl, Natasha, Shepherd, Frances, A Xu, Wei, Liu, Geoffrey, Hope, Andrew
Chair’s Award for Academic Excellence in Research Dr. Adam Gladwish Title: Does the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Value Predict Disease Recurrence in Patients with Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer Treated with Radical Chemoradiation? Authors: Gladwish A, Milosevic M, Fyles A, Foltz W, Becker N, Jiang H, Levin W, Manchul L, Han K.
Resident’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching Presented to: Dr. Andrea Bezjak
Residents Award for Excellence in Physics Teaching Presented to: Dr. Claire McCann
