Newswise — ARLINGTON, Va., October 10, 2024 — The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2024 Gold Medal awards and other high-profile honors during an awards ceremony during the 66th ASTRO Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Photos of the awardees and the ceremony are available online.
ASTRO Gold Medal
May Abdel-Wahab, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Paul Harari, MD, FASTRO and Mack Roach III, MD, FASTRO, are the 2024 recipients of the ASTRO Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an ASTRO member. ASTRO awards its Gold Medal annually to individuals who have made outstanding lifetime contributions in the field of radiation oncology, including achievements in clinical patient care, research, teaching and service to the profession. In the award’s 48th consecutive year, Drs. Abdel-Wahab, Harari and Roach join an exclusive group of 99 Gold Medalists.
Dr. May Abdel-Wahab is Director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, where she leads efforts to improve global cancer outcomes by expanding access to radiation therapy, education and quality assurance through collaborations with organizations such as ASTRO and the World Health Organization. Her extensive clinical and research contributions include pioneering work in prostate and gastrointestinal cancers, as well as spinal cord gliomas and hepatocellular carcinoma, and advancing the use of radiosensitizers and hormone antagonists for cancer treatment. Dr. Abdel-Wahab also spearheaded the formation of the International Radiation Oncology Society Network and recently led a Lancet Oncology Commission on radiotherapy and theranostics.
Dr. Paul Harari recently completed a 17-year tenure as Chair of the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin. He is the principal investigator for the university’s first NIH-funded Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) and has led multiple practice-changing phase II and III international clinical trials for people with head and neck cancers. A former President and Board Chair of ASTRO, Dr. Harari represented the Society before Congress to testify on the burden of prior authorization for radiation oncology practices and patients. He also previously chaired ASTRO’s Education Council and was Chair of the inaugural Multidisciplinary Head & Neck Cancer Symposium. Dr. Harari is also a passionate educator who received the 2023 ASTRO Mentorship Award.
Dr. Mack Roach is a professor of radiation oncology, medical oncology and urology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a former Chair of radiation oncology. A renowned leader in prostate cancer research and treatment, he pioneered the widely used “Roach Formula” for estimating prostate cancer risk and led multiple phase III clinical trials that have shaped modern treatment protocols. Dr. Roach is a longtime advocate for social justice, diversity and inclusion in medicine, demonstrated through his commitment to volunteer work and mentoring people who are underrepresented in the medical community. He was a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board during President Barack Obama’s administration and served on multiple ASTRO committees.
Read more about Dr. Abdel-Wahab, Dr. Harari and Dr. Roach in ASTROnews. Tributes for each of the Gold Medalists also are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal).
ASTRO Honorary Member
ASTRO CEO Laura Thevenot, who will retire in November after leading the Society for more than two decades, is the 2024 ASTRO Honorary Member. This award is the highest honor ASTRO bestows upon individuals in disciplines outside of radiation oncology, radiobiology and medical physics. Read more about Ms. Thevenot in ASTROnews and in a tribute by former ASTRO Chair Thomas Eichler, MD, FASTRO, published in the Red Journal.
ASTRO Mentorship Award
Felix Feng, MD, FASTRO, David Gius, MD, PhD, FASTRO, and Vinita Takiar, MD, PhD, are the recipients of the 2024 ASTRO Mentorship Awards. This honor recognizes role models in radiation oncology who have excelled as mentors through outstanding commitment to developing their mentees as clinicians, educators and researchers. Read more about Dr. Feng, Dr. Gius and Dr. Takiar in ASTROnews.
At the ceremony, ASTRO Board of Directors Chair Jeff Michalski, MD, MBA, FASTRO, announced the launch of the American Cancer Society (ACS)-ASTRO Dr. Felix Feng Clinician Scientist Development Grant Award, which will support early career research.
Annual Meeting Abstract Awards
More than three dozen researchers received 2024 ASTRO Annual Meeting Abstract Awards, which recognize the highest rated research presented at the meeting and highlight the work of residents and early career professionals. A full list of the 2024 award recipients is available in the Red Journal, and details about their abstracts and presentations are available in the Annual Meeting portal.
Jay Detsky, MD, PhD, and Kenneth Merrell, MD, received the Steven A. Leibel Memorial Award, an award given jointly by ASTRO and the American Board of Radiology (ABR) Foundation that recognizes the contributions of principal investigators in the first decade of their careers following board certification in radiation oncology.
Survivor Circle: Honoring Patients and Their Contributions
In addition to awarding achievements in the fight against cancer made by oncology investigators, ASTRO recognizes contributions from patient support organizations through its Survivor Circle Grant program. To date, ASTRO has awarded more than $500,000 in Survivor Circle Grants. This year’s recipients include two organizations that provide cancer support services in the Washington, DC region: Smith Center for Healing and the Arts and Touch4Life. Read more about the Survivor Circle program and these organizations in ASTROnews, and read an update from last year’s Survivor Circle recipients on the ASTROblog.
ABOUT ASTRO
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is the largest 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. Radiation therapy contributes to 40% of global cancer cures, and more than a million Americans receive radiation treatments for cancer each year. For information on radiation therapy, visit RTAnswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit our website and media center and follow us on social media.
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