NIH awards $1.4M for radiology, oncology resident research initiative
Radiology researchers at Duke University recently received millions to support its residency-based imaging and cancer initiative, according to a Feb. 17 announcement.
The $1.4 million R38 grant will go toward the Duke Radiation Oncology and Radiology Stimulating Access to Research in Residency program. Beginning in July, residents will complete 12 to 24 months of mentored research in imaging, radiation biology, cancer biology or medical physics.
Each investigator will be able to choose from professors who are leading their respective fields. This includes David Kirsch, MD, PhD, who co-leads the Radiation Oncology and Imaging Research program at Duke Cancer Institute. He leads a lab that uses mouse models to study cancer and radiation biology, developing new, preclinical cancer therapies.
“This grant will give residents in radiation oncology and radiology the opportunity to position themselves for a future career translating discoveries from the lab to better treatments and improved outcomes for cancer patients,” Kirsch, who is also program director for the R38 grant, said in a Duke Cancer Initiative announcement.
As part of the grant, students will also receive $20,000 for research expenses along with funding to attend a scientific conference.
“I am particularly excited to get the resident-investigators involved from the beginning as we roll out several new initiatives in computational data science, including development of virtual clinical trials and deep learning to improve cancer diagnosis and therapy,” said Joseph Lo, PhD, who directs Duke’s advanced imaging labs.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.