ASTRO announces 2009 research award recipients

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has announced the recipients of two grants funded by the Radiation Oncology Institute.

The Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award is given to stimulate interest in radiation research early in academic career development by giving junior physician faculty the opportunity to focus on research in radiation oncology, biology, physics or outcomes/health services research. According to the society, it is presented each year to a board-eligible physician or physicist in radiation oncology or a radiobiologist who is within the first three years of his or her junior faculty appointment.

This two-year award amounts to $125,000 per year. The recipients are Joseph Contessa, MD, PhD, of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and Phuoc Tran, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Grant Award is given to support residents or fellows who are planning a career focusing on basic science or clinical research.

These grants are awarded each year for a one-year project and are in amounts of up to $30,000 each. This year’s recipients are Christopher Barker, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, Kevin Choe, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago in Chicago and Andrew Elia, MD, PhD, of the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program at Harvard University in Boston.

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.