Translational Radiation
Oncology Center
(TARGET)
The Mission of the Translational Radiation Oncology Center (TARGET) is to engage a dynamic multi-disciplinary group of investigators to perform cutting edge research on tissue acquired from patients treated with radiotherapy to develop a deeper understanding of the mechanistic interactions and biologic consequences of radiation on tumor and normal tissue. The Vision of TARGET is to translate mechanism discovery into early phase clinical trials combining novel therapeutics with radiotherapy and train future leaders in translation radiation oncology.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
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Feb
24
Feb
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Feb
06
Mar
11
Mar
Major awarded grant
Benjamin Major, PhD, BLST bioinformatics Core Lead, has been awarded a grant for his work entitled “Drugging NRF2 to improve radiation therapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma“. Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs): $3,183,128 ($1,827,136 Washington University portion)
First journal article published with support from the U54 grant (Links to an external site)
First author Brett Tortelli, MD, PhD, has been mentored by Dr. Julie Schwarz over the past three years as he has been studying the associations between the vaginal microbiome and the response of standard of care chemoradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer.
Robinson and Markovina granted tenure
Clifford Robinson, MD, FASTRO, and Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD, were both granted tenure by the WashU Medicine Board of Trustees in Fall, 2024.
Schwarz presents at International Conference on Tumor Microenvironment and Cellular Stress
Julie Schwarz, MD, PhD, presented her research in Paphos, Cyprus on November 1, 2024.
Mafra presents at 2024 Cancer Research Symposium
Ana Carolina Paschoalini Mafra, PhD, Postdoc Research Associate in the Schwarz Lab, presented cervical cancer research on November 1, 2024 at the Cancer Research Symposium held at WashU Medicine.
Robinson, Schwarz recognized by radiation oncology society (Links to an external site)
Acknowledged for contributions to the field, they have been named fellows of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Click to read full article.
METEORITE teaching session to CancerBio PhD students
Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD inspired cancer biology PhD students by teaching them about radiation therapy and how to perform clinically relevant preclinical studies.
Markovina awarded NIH R01
Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD, METEOR Clinical Trial and Project 1 Co-l (Cervix) Lead has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $2,865,128. Her work is entitled “The role of SERPINB3 in cervical cancer therapeutic resistance”.
RRS Presentations 2024
Click to view photos – Jin, Matt, Trevor and Rohil present their work at the Radiation Research Society Meeting in Tucson, AZ – September, 2024
TARGET Center well represented at RRS
Radiation Research Society (RRS) has its 70th annual international meeting in September 2024. The WashU TARGET Center has multiple speakers and session chairs. S08: Medicine/Biomarkers: Matthew Inkman presenting TR 04: ROBIN Educational component – Stephanie Markovina, Chair S11: ROBIN Evolution of Radiation Response – Julie Schwarz, Chair, Jin Zhang and Trevor Zimmerman presenting
Markovina and Contreras awarded an NIH R37 MERIT
Stephanie Markovina, MD, PhD, METEOR Clinical Trial and Project 1 Co-l (Cervix) Lead, and Jessika Contreras, MD have been awarded an R37 MERIT grant from the National Institutes of Health in the amount of $3,182,644. Their work is entitled, “Accelerated Brachytherapy Forward Chemoradiation Therapy (ABC-RT) for Cervical Cancer”.
Schwarz and Robinson recognized by radiation oncology society (Links to an external site)
Julie Schwarz, MD, PhD and Cliff Robinson, MD both received FELLOW designations from radiation oncology society ASTRO, and will be formally recognized in Washington, DC in October, 2024.