ASTRO Gold Medal and Other Award Winners

The 2022 ASTRO Gold Medal awards, the highest honor bestowed upon an ASTRO member, were presented to Wendell R. Lutz, PhD, and Tim R. Williams, MD, FASTRO. ASTRO awards its Gold Medal annually to individuals who have made outstanding lifetime contributions in the field of radiation oncology, including achievements in clinical patient care, research, teaching and service to the profession. In the award’s 46th consecutive year, Drs. Lutz and Williams join an exclusive group of 93 Gold Medalists.

Dr Lutz is a medical physicist who is recognized internationally for his pioneering work developing a linear accelerator-based system for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) as well as multiple devices for quality assurance in radiation oncology. Before his retirement, Dr Lutz held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the University of Arizona, and he was named Educator of the Year by the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology. His methods and inventions for quality assurance have been adopted worldwide, and he was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. He also has contributed actively to veterinary oncology, including helping build technology to treat dogs with SRS.

Dr Williams is medical director of the South Florida Proton Therapy Institute and a former Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. During his tenure as Board Chair, ASTRO launched its Target Safely initiative, which focused on improving safety and quality in patient care and established patient safety programs including RO-ILS: Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System® and APEx – Accreditation Program for Excellence. Dr Williams is a former president and Gold Medal recipient of the Florida Radiological Society, as well as a founding member of the International Cancer Expert Corps. His extensive record of service to ASTRO also includes volunteer and leadership roles with ASTROnews, the Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI) and the society’s health policy and international education committees.

Other awards conferred to ASTRO members included the following

Robert A. Winn, MD, Director and Lipman Chair in Oncology at the VCU Massey Cancer Center, is the 2022 ASTRO Honorary Member for his outstanding contributions to community-centered clinical care, scientific research and improving diversity, equity and inclusion in oncology. This award is the highest honor that ASTRO bestows upon cancer physicians and researchers in disciplines outside of radiation oncology, radiobiology and medical physics.

Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, FASTRO, and Charles Thomas Jr., MD, FASTRO, are the first recipients of ASTRO’s new Mentorship Award. This honor recognizes role models in radiation oncology who have excelled as mentors through outstanding commitment to developing their mentees as clinicians, educators and researchers.

Chelsea Pinnix, MD, PhD, and Erin Gillespie, MD, are the recipients of the Steven A. Leibel Memorial Award, a new award given jointly by ASTRO and the American Board of Radiology (ABR) Foundation. The Leibel Memorial Award recognizes the contributions of principal investigators who are in the first decade of their careers following board certification in radiation oncology.

Forty-four researchers received 2022 ASTRO Annual Meeting Abstract Awards, which recognize the highest-rated research presented at the meeting and focus on highlighting the work of residents and early career professionals.

ASTRO also recognizes contributions from patient support organizations through its Survivor Circle Grant program and will award grants to two organizations that provide cancer support services in the San Antonio region, Breast Cancer Resource Center of Texas and ThriveWell Cancer Foundation.