Fairfax, Va., July 26, 2012 - The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named its 2012 class of Fellows. These 12 distinguished members will receive their Fellow designation at a ceremony during the Society's 54th Annual Meeting being held October 28-31, 2012, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston.

"Being chosen as an ASTRO Fellow is one of the most distinguished honors that the Society awards. This year's class clearly stood out because of their distinct contributions to ASTRO and to the field of radiation oncology as a whole," said Michael L. Steinberg, MD, FASTRO, ASTRO president and a professor and chairman of the department of radiation oncology at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. "Congratulations to all of the new Fellows."

Members of ASTRO are eligible to become a Fellow if they have been part of the Society for at least 15 years, have given significant service to ASTRO and have made a significant contribution to the field of radiation oncology. The primary pathways to becoming a Fellow are excellence in research, patient care, education and leadership/service. The Society values contributions to all four areas, however, each nominee needed to have a truly outstanding contribution to at least one of the pathways to be named a Fellow.

The nominations were reviewed by the nine-member Fellows Selection Committee, who made recommendations to the ASTRO Board of Directors.

This year's Fellows class includes:

• Thomas A. Buchholz, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
• Beth A. Erickson, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• Francine Halberg, MD, Marin Cancer Institute at Marin General Hospital, Greenbrae, Calif.
• A. Robert Kagan, MD, Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Los Angeles
• Maria D. Kelly MB, BCh, Veterans Administration New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, N.J.
• Eric E. Klein, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
• Benjamin Movsas, MD, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit
• Arno J. Mundt, MD, Moores Cancer Center at University of California San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.
• Subir Nag, MD, Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, Santa Clara, Calif.
• Jatinder R. Palta, PhD, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fla.
• Timothy Whelan, MSc, BM, BCh, Juravinski Cancer Centre at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
• Joachim Yahalom, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York

For more information on the ASTRO Fellows Program, visit www.astro.org/Membership/Recognition-Awards/ASTRO-Fellows-Program/Fellows-Recipients.aspx.

For more information on ASTRO's 54th Annual Meeting, visit www.astro.org/annualmeeting. To learn more about radiation therapy treatments, visit www.rtanswers.org.

ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through education, clinical practice, advancement of science and advocacy. For more information on radiation therapy, visit www.rtanswers.org. To learn more about ASTRO, visit www.astro.org.

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