Laura Dawson elected as ASTRO President Elect

Laura Dawson, MD, FRCPC, FASTRO

Laura Dawson, MD, FRCPC, FASTRO, has been elected president of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and will begin her term at the company's 61st annual meeting, to be held in Chicago, Illinois on September 15th. -18.

"I am honored to be elected President Elect of ASTRO. Radiation oncology is a very effective intervention that most [patients with] cancer at one time or another during the disease, "said Dawson in a statement. "Unfortunately, not all patients have access to radiation therapy and there is a need to increase public awareness of its benefits."

Dawson specializes in radiation oncology and gastrointestinal cancers. She is currently leading a multidisciplinary group of cancer oncologists in the upper gastrointestinal tract at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto and teaches in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Toronto. She is leading a radiation oncology program focused on palliative care and has conducted several Phase I, II and III trials. These include trials involving the use of personalized stereotactic body radiotherapy in patients with liver cancer, who previously were not candidates for radiation therapy. .

During her year as President Elected, followed by a one year tenure, then a new presidency to the ASTRO Board Chair, Dawson plans to focus on the issues of radiation oncology and medicine in general. This will include physician burnout, staff diversity and restrictive prior authorization practices that delay patients' access to cancer treatment.

Previously, Dawson served as Chair of ASTRO's Board of Education on its Board of Directors. She also recently chaired the steering committee of the Gastrointestinal Symposium, co-sponsored by ASTRO. She has participated on the NRG IGR Steering and Translational Research Committees, as well as the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Hepatobiliary Working Group and the National Institute of Health for more than 10 years.

After publishing more than 180 articles and receiving numerous awards, she has become a world-renowned leader in gastrointestinal cancers and radiation therapy.

With Dawson, 3 others were elected to ASTRO's Board of Directors, starting in September as well. Neha Vapiwala, MD, will join the board as the new elected secretary / treasurer. She works at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as Associate Professor and Vice President of Education at the Department of Radiation Oncology and as Dean of Admissions. Vapiwala is also part of the NCI Prostate Cancer Working Group and is considered an expert in genitourinary cancers. During her one-year tenure as an elected secretary / treasurer followed by three years as secretary / treasurer, Vapiwala will focus on the challenges of the health care economy.

Constantine Mantz, MD, will be the new vice president of the Health Policy Council for a two-year term. She will serve as Policy Officer and Radiation Oncologist at 21st Century Oncology in Fort Meyers, Florida.

Finally, Brian Marples, PhD, new vice president of the Science Council, is director of radiobiology and research professor in the department of radiation oncology at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. During his two years as Vice President, Marples will focus on relationships with ASTRO members and other medical companies on innovations in radiation oncology.