Staff Recognized at 2015 Spring DCEG Town Hall Meeting
, by DCEG Staff
In April, DCEG held a Town Hall Meeting to recognize the accomplishments of Division members during the past year. Director Stephen J. Chanock, M.D., welcomed staff and gave an update on Division activities. In addition, he paid special tribute to those who have made a substantial impact with their scientific contributions and service to the Division and Institute in 2014.
Fellowship Achievement Awards, which come with a stipend increase at the next appointment renewal, honored fellows who excelled during the past year. Recipients were Anna Coghill, Ph.D., Mitchell Machiela, Sc.D., Olusegun Onabajo, Ph.D., Orestis Panagiotou, M.D., Ph.D., Elizabeth Yanik, Ph.D., and Tongwu Zhang, Ph.D.
DCEG Fellowship Achievement Award recipients Tongwu Zhang, Orestis Panagiotou, Olusegun Onabajo, Anna Coghill, and Elizabeth Yanik with Stephen Chanock. (Not shown: Mitchell Machiela)
Awards were also given for DCEG Outstanding Research Papers of 2014 in recognition of exceptional publications from fellows and staff scientists or clinicians. The Division's Senior Advisory Group judged the competition based on the papers' impact, innovation, and clarity of thought and language. Five fellows received awards:
Hannah Arem, Ph.D., M.H.S
“Pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity, television viewing, and mortality among patients with colorectal cancer in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study,” Journal of Clinical Oncology
Clara Bodelon, Ph.D., M.S.
“Analysis of serial ovarian volume measurements and incidence of ovarian cancer: Implications for pathogenesis,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute
DCEG Outstanding Mentor Award recipient Choonsik Lee with Stephen Chanock.
Fangyi Gu, M.Med., Sc.D.
“Time to smoke first morning cigarette and lung cancer in a case-control study,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Meredith Shiels, Ph.D.
“Cigarette smoking and variations in systemic immune and inflammation markers,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Cindy Zhou, Ph.D.
“Relationship between male pattern baldness and the risk of aggressive prostate cancer: An analysis of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial,” Journal of Clinical Oncology
The recipients in the staff scientist or clinician category were:
Julia C. Gage, Ph.D., M.P.H.
“Reassurance against future risk of pre cancer and cancer conferred by negative human papillomavirus test,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Nan Hu, M.D., Ph.D.
“Joint analysis of three genome-wide association studies of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Chinese populations,” Nature Genetics
Each year, the Division recognizes staff who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide tremendous service to their Office, Branch, or the Division as a whole. DCEG Special Appreciation Awards were given to David Check, Michael Cullen, Ph.D., Carl McCabe, Ph.D., and Meredith Yeager, Ph.D.
DCEG Exemplary Service Award recipient Martha Linet with Stephen Chanock.
Choonsik Lee, Ph.D., received the DCEG Outstanding Mentor Award in recognition of his exceptional commitment to the growth and productivity of junior scientists. In the nomination by fellows, Dr. Lee was praised for “giving his fellows challenging and enriching projects…whether through his experience or innate sense of mentoring, Dr. Lee has found an effective balance between guidance and empowerment.”
A DCEG Exemplary Service Award was given to Martha S. Linet, M.D., M.P.H., in honor of her remarkable leadership as Chief of the Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) since 2002. Dr. Linet stepped down as Chief in December 2014; she remains a senior investigator in the Branch. In addition to her many scientific contributions to the field of radiation epidemiology, Dr. Linet leaves as her legacy an outstanding, multidisciplinary team of investigators, including world-class radiation scientists whom she recruited, and the dosimetry unit, which has thrived during the last 12 years.
Winners of the 2015 DCEG Fellows Award for Research Excellence, which had been announced earlier in the year, also received recognition at the Town Meeting. The event was coordinated by Alyssa Voss, M.P.H., Office of the Director.