RTOG Foundation Newsletter

December 2022

RTOGF at #NRG2023 in Orlando

Please join us for a RTOG Foundation Investigators Meeting in-person at the NRG Oncology Winter meeting in Orlando, Florida. The meeting will take place on Thursday, January 26th at 7:00PM ET.

This will be an opportunity to hear all the latest updates about upcoming RTOG Foundation trials, and how to become more involved with the Foundation in general. It will be a great opportunity to connect face to face with the radiation oncology community!

If you have not received a calendar invite to the investigator meeting and you would like to attend, or you would like us to extend an invitation to others at your institution, please send an email to info@rtog.org.

The RTOGF Research Committee Update

Written by Drs. Edwin Posadas & Mark Mishra, RTOGF Research Committee Chairs

As we bring 2022 to a close, we would like to extend an invitation to the RTOG Members to bring concepts and ideas to the new Research Committee. Our plans for the committee involve strengthening interactions with RTOG investigators, particularly new investigators launching their academic careers who have original ideas that we can help move forward into clinical trials. To spark interactions and generate enthusiasm for RTOG Foundation driven studies we have prepared a few points of information in an FAQ format:

Accepting Applications for the RTOGF Communications Internship

The RTOG Foundations Committee is searching for communications interns! This will be a 12-month internship, ideal for radiation oncology residents or medical students looking for ways to get involved with cancer research and other organizational activities. Interns will work with RTOG communications staff to create social media content around RTOG foundation trials. Interns will attend virtual meetings with the communications team, RTOG foundation board meetings, and will also have the opportunity to attend a RTOG investigators meeting. There will be a $1000 stipend for each intern. Please contact info@rtog.org for questions. Please submit a cover letter and your CV to info@rtog.org by February 15, 2023.

New Investigator Spotlight:

Naamit Kurshan Gerber, MD

Naamit Kurshan Gerber, MD, was recently selected as an RTOG Foundation New Investigator Spotlight due to her various accomplishments and ongoing efforts in the oncology community. Dr. Geber is an associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Perlmutter Cancer Center of the NYU Langone Medical Center. She specializes in the treatment of breast cancer and lymphoma and is actively involved in research focused on improving outcomes for women with early-stage breast cancer. Additionally, she serves on the NRG Oncology Breast Cancer Local Regional Subcommittee, the Breast Scientific Program and Education Committees for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), is a senior editor for breast cancer and editor of the Morbidity and Mortality Column at Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), and serves as the Program Director of the NYU Radiation Oncology Residency Program.

RTOGF Accruals Now Count Towards NRG Membership

NRG Oncology has amended the accrual requirements to achieve and maintain Main, Affiliate, Voting and International Member statuses. Enrollments to trials conducted by its member foundations, the GOG, NSABP and RTOG Foundations, may now be credited for a portion of the accrual needed to meet the NRG Oncology membership requirements. The NRG Oncology Board of Directors approved this change during its August 25, 2022 meeting. At the end of each calendar year the three foundations will provide NRG with a summary of the institutional accruals to its non-NRG Oncology trials. The Membership Committee will review institutional performance using data that includes those accruals . Below is a summary of the foundation accrual that can be used to meet NRG Oncology membership requirements.

RTOGF studies that WILL count towards NRG accrual requirements:

RTOG 3506
RTOG 3507
RTOG 3509/10
RTOG 3515
ACR 3518

RTOGF studies that WILL NOT count towards NRG accrual requirements:

RTOG 3516
RTOG 3519

Did You Know?

There are several ways you can participate in RTOG Foundation as either a member site, an industry collaborator, or by enrolling in one of our studies. Read more below about how you can partner with RTOG Foundation.

Learn more at www.RTOG.org/Partners