RTOG Foundation Newsletter
September 2023
info@rtog.org

In this issue
  •  Interview with NRG Oncology Gold Medal Awardee, Dr. Wally Curran
  •  New Investigator Spotlight: Benjamin Spieler, MD
  •  RTOGF at ASTRO 2023
  •  Q&A with ASTRO President & RTOG 0232 Study Principal Investigator, Dr. Jeff Michalski

RTOGF at #NRG2024 in Orlando
Please join us for an RTOG Foundation Investigators Meeting in-person at the NRG Oncology Winter meeting in Orlando, Florida. The meeting will take place on Thursday, February 15th 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!  In the next few weeks you will receive a calendar invite to the investigator meeting if you would like us to extend an invitation to others at your institution, please send an email to info@rtog.org.
 
Interview with NRG Oncology Gold Medal Awardee, Dr. Wally Curran
Written by Dr. Danielle Cerbon, RTOG Foundation Communications Intern

At the NRG Oncology semiannual meeting in July 2023, Dr. Walter Curran was awarded the NRG Oncology Gold Medal award, for his tremendous contributions to the mission of improving the lives of cancer patients through research. Dr. Curran served as former RTOG group chair and as NRG Oncology group chair from 2013-2020. Below is an interview with Dr. Curran, reflecting on these accomplishments.

Q: You have several inspiring career achievements and honors; however, several people might not know that before medical school, you were a track coach and teacher for five years, including three years teaching middle school science at a public school in rural Georgia. How did this influence your career as a physician?

WC: At age 18 I knew that I wanted to be a physician, but I wanted to teach in a public school and coach track for a few years first, that was my plan and I ended up doing it. In my perspective this was the best decision I ever made. There’s no more challenging job for a young person than being a schoolteacher. You learn a lot as a teacher which is applicable to any walk of life, but certainly is applicable to medicine. Teaching is obviously a critical part of being a physician and an investigator, and I have continued to coach for decades even as a physician, in my kids’ sports teams or other teams.

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