Publication Excellence Awards

2025 Call for Nominations

Through the Publication Excellence Awards, the Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI) recognizes early career investigators who have recently published results of exceptional research in radiation oncology that addresses one of more the ROI priorities: quality and safety; decreasing radiation-induced toxicity; advancing the comparative and cost effectiveness of radiation therapy; improving radiation therapy education for patients, caregivers, and others; and/or advancing health care access. Nominations of clinical, biology, and physics research from investigators in academia, community practice, and other practice settings are encouraged. 

ROI is partnering with the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) to accept nominations of trainee investigators who have recently published on topics related to advancing health care access. Learn more about the ARRO Health Care Access Publication Award. 

Recognition

Each year, ROI will honor up to three Publication Excellence Award winners. Recognition will include:

• A $1,500 cash award*
• Presentation of a glass trophy at the 2025 ASTRO Annual Meeting
• Being featured in a variety of ROI promotional materials before and during the ASTRO Annual Meeting, including The Visionary e-newsletter, ROInstitute.org, presentations by ROI leaders and social media

Eligibility

The nominee must be:

• Named either first or last in the list of authors of the manuscript.
• A resident, clinical fellow, postdoctoral fellow, or physician, physicist, research faculty, dosimetrist, radiation therapist, nurse, or other allied health professional that works in radiation oncology and is within eight years of completing their terminal training program when the manuscript was published.
• A member of ASTRO.

The work authored by the nominee:

• Must be a single manuscript addressing one or more of the ROI’s priority research areas.
• Must have been published in a peer-reviewed journal and first made publicly available by the journal between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
• Can use either qualitative or quantitative techniques to present, analyze and comment on new data, or to synthesize and analyze data that were previously collected.

Selection criteria

Nominations for the ROI Publication Excellence Award will be evaluated on several criteria based on scientific and technical merit.

• Does the research address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in radiation oncology?
• Does the research advance knowledge in radiation oncology, produce new insights and/or have the potential to change current thinking?
• Is the research scientifically rigorous?
• How well does the research address one or more of the priorities in ROI’s research agenda?

How to apply

• Complete the online nomination form by July 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern using the ROI portal on ProposalCentral.
• Nominations must include a copy of the article(s).
• Nominators must be a member of ASTRO. Self-nominations are accepted.
• A brief statement (up to one page) supporting the nomination is required. Be sure to:
  • Describe the impact that the research findings will have on the field of radiation oncology as a whole.
  • Emphasize how the research published in the manuscript aligns with ROI’s research agenda and one or more of its priorities: quality and safety; decreasing radiation-induced toxicity; advancing the comparative and cost effectiveness of radiation therapy; improving radiation therapy education for patients, caregivers and others; and/or advancing health equity and reducing disparities in radiation care for underserved populations in domestic or global settings.

 Award Selection

• Each nomination will be evaluated by at least two qualified ROI reviewers and then considered by the ROI Research Committee and the ROI Board of Trustees to determine the Publication Excellence Award Winner(s).
• No individual who is an author on a manuscript submitted for consideration may participate in the selection process for determining the ROI Publication Excellence Award(s).
• Members of the ROI Board of Trustees or the ROI Research Committee will not evaluate nominations from their own institution or organization.

* This award will be paid directly to the winner. The award is considered taxable income and winners will be issued a 1099.