Newsmakers

Read about our faculty's grants, leadership appointments and other successes.

Lee awarded R01 for radiation-induced oral mucositis research

Dr. Lee

Chang-Lung Lee, PhD, was awarded a $2.5 million, five-year R01 grant by the NIH to support the investigation of novel therapeutic strategies that will prevent or reduce radiation-induced oral mucositis without sacrificing tumor control. Dr. Lee is PI on the grant; co-investigators are Mark Oldham, PhD, and Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD.

 Lafata awarded R01 for computational oncology research

Dr. Lafata

Kyle Lafata, PhD, was awarded a $2.25 million, five-year R01 grant by the NIH/NCI to interrogate treatment resistance and immune dysregulation in head and neck cancer using multiscale imaging and applied mathematics. Dr. Lafata is PI on the grant. Co-investigators are David Brizel, MD; Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD; Chunhao Wang, PhD; Tammara Watts, MD, PhD; and Sara Jiang, MD.

Reitman awarded ALSF grant

Dr. Reitman

Zachary Reitman, MD, PhD, was awarded an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF) ‘A’ Award Grant in the amount of $800,000 over four years for “Modulation of STING to enhance the efficacy of treatments for diffuse midline glioma.” The Reitman Lab is investigating highly therapeutically relevant molecular processes to inform future combination treatment strategies for pediatric diffuse midline gliomas. Current studies will determine if pediatric clinical trials should focus on drugs that target stimulator of interferon genes. 

Ayala-Peacock named NRG Committee vice chair 

Dr. Ayala-Peacock

Diandra Ayala-Peacock, MD, has been named the NRG Oncology Radiation Oncology Committee vice chair. The Scientific Core Committee aides in cross-group collaboration and engagement for radiation oncology research. 

 Palta selected for ALICE program

Dr. Palta

Manisha Palta, MD, was selected to participate in the 2024 ALICE (Academic Leadership, Innovation and Collaborative Engagement) program. ALICE is a year-long leadership development opportunity for women faculty in the Duke University School of Medicine.

 McDuff selected for LEADER program

Dr. McDuff

Susan McDuff, MD, PhD, was selected to participate in the 2024 LEADER (Leadership Development for Researchers) program. The program is designed for junior faculty who are leading a research group and driving their own research agenda.

Rodrigues named president-elect of SDAMPP

Dr. Rodrigues

Anna Rodrigues, PhD, was named president-elect of The Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs (SDAMPP) for 2024, beginning a three-year service on the presidential chain. Among her responsibilities, she will organize the SDAMPP Annual Meeting to be held in July at the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, California.

Team awarded R21 for work with ultra-high dose rate electron beam

R21 team

Scott Floyd, MD, PhD; Mark Oldham, PhD; and Physics faculty Ying Wu, PhD, were awarded a $413,971, two-year R21 grant by the NIH for the project “Exploring synthetic lethality with a novel very high energy electron FLASH radiation beam.”