Meet Our Researchers

A New Era of Radiotherapy

Dr. Colangelo and his colleagues are conducting preclinical research to investigate combining FLASH radiation therapy and a class of drugs called SOD mimetics to optimize treatment for pancreatic cancer. They aim to demonstrate that together these emerging therapies can reduce bowel toxicity, decrease tumor size and improve survival.

Michael Goldstein, MD, PhD

Dr. Goldstein and his colleagues are developing a FLASH RT regimen for lung cancer that consists of multiple treatments to determine whether this type of radiation delivery retains its protective effect on nearby healthy tissues. The team designed a cutting-edge platform that they are using to conduct preclinical studies on fractionated FLASH RT to help establish whether it will be safe and effective to test in clinical trials.

Joseph Harms, PhD

Dr. Harms and his team are building and testing a new detection system to measure the dose and how fast the dose is delivered for proton FLASH RT. Their novel radiation detector uses an ultra-fast camera that will allow for real-time measurement of FLASH beams to ensure that treatments are delivered to patients as intended.

Katie Lichter, MD, MPH

Dr. Lichter and her team are conducting the first-ever investigation of wildfire events’ impact on patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Their study includes surveying California-based radiation oncologists to assess their perceptions and preparedness for wildfire events. They are also analyzing care disruptions for patients receiving radiotherapy during wildfires and how exposure to such disasters affects patient outcomes.

Michael Pennock, MD, MBiot

Dr. Pennock and his team are comparing three methods of delivering proton therapy for head and neck cancer, including proton pencil-beam scanning Bragg peak FLASH (PBS-BPF), a new modality they developed. They aim to determine which treatment best minimizes damage leading to side effects that jeopardize eating and speaking for patients with head and neck cancer.

Ted K. Yanagihara, MD, PhD

Dr. Yanagihara and his colleagues are conducting a prospective clinical trial in which patients with sarcoma receive a priming dose of GRID therapy before standard treatment. They are evaluating the safety and effectiveness of adding GRID to standard treatment and investigating whether it activates an immune response that increases the number of tumor cells destroyed.

Leveraging AI for Radiation Oncology

Badve Choi Ma Chen
Dr. Badve, Dr. Choi, Dr. Ma and Dr. Chen are combining Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) with artificial intelligence (AI) based neural networks to improve target delineation in post-operative radiotherapy for glioblastoma. Radiation helps control local recurrence but carries the risk of neurological deterioration. The team aims to map tumor infiltration more accurately for each patient to create personalized radiation treatment strategies that better target tumor cells and reduce neurological deterioration.
Ming Chao, PhD, and Jose Penagaricano, MD
Dr. Chao, Dr. Penagaricano and their team are testing their unique spatial cluster model to predict xerostomia in head and neck cancer. In prior research, they have shown that incorporating spatial dose distribution into the cluster model improves the prediction of xerostomia over existing methods. They will use big data analytics to optimize the accuracy and sensitivity of the cluster model. Their goal is to develop a better decision-making tool for treatment planning in head and neck cancer that can help improve patient quality of life by reducing or preventing xerostomia.
Tafadzwa Chaunzwa, MD, MHS
Dr. Chaunzwa and his team are using deep learning radiomics to develop imaging-based biomarkers that identify patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who are unlikely to respond to immunotherapy and will need intensified treatment with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) or chemotherapy. They aim to develop an advanced and inexpensive AI software that can improve treatment selection and outcomes for patients with lung cancer.
Allen Mo MD PhD
Dr. Mo and his team are using machine learning algorithms to aid clinical decision making for optimal treatment selection for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Building on prior work analyzing clinical, demographic, pathologic and radiographic features in their database of over 900 patients with HCC, Dr. Mo and mentor Rafi Kabarriti, MD, are developing decision support tools to evaluate progression free survival and risk of toxicity for patients in both the newly diagnosed and previously treated settings.
Jinzhong Yang, PhD, and Percy Lee, MD
Jinzhong Yang, PhD, Percy Lee, MD, and their team are using MR-guided radiotherapy and customized AI tools to improve the management of cardiac toxicity in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. They are leveraging the unique capabilities of MRI guided linear accelerators (MR-Linac) that allow for improved and real-time visualization of cardiac substructures during treatment and may reveal subtle changes to the heart due to radiation that might impact long-term toxicity.
Simeng Zhu, MD
Simeng Zhu, MD, and his team are using artificial intelligence to tailor treatment for patients with head and neck cancer. They are building and testing an innovative model that incorporates tumor imaging features and clinical factors to predict a patient’s risk of local recurrence or distant metastasis. Treatment can be better personalized by identifying which patients have a higher risk of recurrence and need heightened surveillance after treatment and those who may benefit from treatment de-escalation, which can reduce long-term radiation-induced toxicity.

Biomarkers for Radiation Oncology

Hesham Elhalawani, MD, MSc
Hesham Elhalawani, MD, MSc, is developing a decision-making tool to help diagnose radiation necrosis (RN) earlier in patients being treated with immunotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases. Dr. Elhalawani and mentor Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, are using artificial intelligence to conduct an analysis of MRIs performed before and after SRS to identify imaging biomarkers to predict which patients are most likely to develop RN.
David Miyamoto, MD, PhD
David Miyamoto, MD, PhD, is developing a new blood test to detect and analyze circulating tumor cells in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer with an ROI Biomarkers for Radiation Oncology Award. This non-invasive liquid biopsy test will help identify patients who can be effectively treated with bladder-preserving trimodality therapy, a combination of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and limited surgery that avoids removing the entire bladder.
Sonal Noticewala, MD, MAS
Sonal Noticewala, MD, MAS, is exploring the role of the microbiome in how patients with pancreatic cancer respond to chemoradiation. The team, which included the late Cullen Taniguchi, MD, PhD, as her mentor, is examining bacterial profiles in paired tissue samples of pancreatic tumors and peri-tumoral regions to define a signature microbiome associated with patient response to chemoradiation, which could help optimize treatments.
Nina Sanford, MD, and Wen Jiang, MD, PhD
Nina Sanford, MD, and Wen Jiang, MD, PhD, are Co-Principal Investigators on a project to develop a novel microscale biochip device to monitor disease progression and treatment response in anal cancer. Their innovative technology will be used to capture circulating exosomes and to detect a microRNA specific to anal cancer in patient blood samples before, during and after chemoradiation that would allow for greater personalization of treatment.

Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Radiation Oncology

Dan Seible, MD
Dr. Seible and his team launched the Alaska Native Internship in Oncology (ANION) program to inspire and guide Alaska Native (AN) students toward careers in radiation oncology to increase their representation in the cancer care workforce, which could ultimately help address health disparities experienced by AN patients. The ANION program is the first oncology-based educational outreach program specifically serving AN students.
G. Nic Rider, PhD, and Stephanie Terezakis, MD
G. Nic Rider, PhD, and Stephanie Terezakis, MD, of the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities are evaluating disparities in cancer care for patients who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+). Their qualitative study will provide rich information about the training needs of various health care providers to deliver more competent, quality care to LGBTQ+ patients with cancer.
Sara Alcorn, MD, PhD, Crystal Aguh, MD
Sara Alcorn, MD, PhD, and Crystal Aguh, MD, are leading a multidisciplinary team to develop a web-based tool that will objectively assess acute skin toxicity in patients with a wide range of skin tones who are receiving radiotherapy to treat breast cancer. This unique collaboration between Radiation Oncology and Dermatology aims to improve quality of life for patients across the range of skin tones.
Malcolm Mattes, MD
Malcolm Mattes, MD, and his team are working to develop a more diverse radiation oncology workforce by introducing students to the specialty earlier in medical school. Using a multifaceted approach, they are studying the perceived value of each of the initiatives as well as the impact of the program on radiation oncology residency applications and matches. Dr. Mattes' work is supported by an Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Radiation Oncology Award.
Oluwadamilola T. Oladeru, MD, MA, MBA
Dr. Oladeru is researching to better understand disparities in cancer care in the Florida state prison system and to develop cancer education materials tailored for incarcerated individuals. Results from her study could improve patient outcomes by increasing awareness and understanding of cancer prevention and early detection among incarcerated people and ultimately decrease the current high incidence of late-stage diagnosis in this population.

Personalized Radiation Therapy

David Byun, MD
Dr. Byun and his team are exploring whether using augmented reality during consultation visits could increase patient knowledge about radiation therapy, reduce anxiety, and improve the quality of their overall treatment experience. They developed CurieUx, an augmented reality patient education platform that uses a 3-D hologram-based display to facilitate discussions about anatomy, the linear accelerator and positioning.
Carmen Bergom, MD, PhD
Dr. Bergom, Dr. Ibrahim and their team are conducting a pilot study to determine whether advanced cardiac MRI can be used to detect early, non-symptomatic damage to the heart in lung cancer patients treated with radiation therapy. They are working to better understand how radiation therapy affects the heart so that treatment plans can be personalized to reduce damage to the heart and improve long-term outcomes among patients with lung cancer.
Daniel Golden, MD, MHPE
Dr. Golden and his team are improving communication between patients with cancer and their physicians by developing a personalized clinical discussion guide that explains external beam radiotherapy using a graphic narrative format. With a grant from ROI, the team created six guides in the “Communicating the External Beam Radiotherapy Experience” (CEBRE) series that are tailored for breast, central nervous system, digestive system, head and neck, lung and prostate cancers and translated them into Spanish.
Adam Wolfe, MD, PhD
Adam Wolfe, MD, PhD, and his team investigated new biomarkers to help personalize treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer. They identified and validated a novel molecular signature that is made up of microRNAs found in blood and tumor tissue samples that could be used to better predict which patients with pancreatic cancer could benefit the most from radiation therapy following surgery.

2018 Innovative Projects in Radiation Oncology

Fumiko Chino, MD
Fumiko Chino, MD, Yvonne Mowery, MD, PhD, and their team conducted a prospective study of patient reported outcomes and financial toxicity for patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy. ROI supported the team's work as part of the 2018 Innovative Projects in Radiation Oncology awards, which focused on funding research to address some of the field’s most pressing challenges.
Karen Hoffman, MD, MHSc, MPH
Dr. Hoffman and her team prospectively surveyed patients with prostate cancer to study whether receiving counseling from a radiation oncologist in a multidisciplinary clinic increased patients’ awareness of radiation therapy as a treatment option with a favorable side effect profile. The team also assessed changes in treatment choice and explored why any changes were made. The results are being used to develop patient education materials.
Nima Nabavizadeh, MD
Dr. Nabavizadeh and his team are prospectively studying whether stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) can be safely used to help patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and advanced cirrhosis as they await a liver transplant. The ROI supported Dr. Nabavizadeh’s work as part of the 2018 Innovative Projects in Radiation Oncology awards, which sought to address some of radiation oncology’s highest priority topics, including SBRT.
Chad Tang, MD
Dr. Tang and his team conducted an analysis to understand the barriers to access and costs associated with treatment options for patients with prostate cancer including, surgery, IMRT, SBRT, brachytherapy, proton therapy and active surveillance. The ROI supported Dr. Tang’s work as part of the 2018 Innovative Projects in Radiation Oncology awards, which focused on funding research to address some of the field’s most pressing challenges.