NRG Oncology Awards 12 Fellows for the Early Career Mentored Fellowship Program

08/12/2026

NRG Oncology recently selected 12 individuals to be NRG Early Mentored Fellows on behalf of the organization. Each individual comes with a different area of concentration for their career focus. NRG Fellows will have opportunities to be engaged for mentorship by an experienced investigator from the disease site committee and the relevant Committee Chair that matches their interest or by one of NRG’s National Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) liaisons for the one-year term. This effort stems from the NRG Oncology Investigator & Career Development Committee, which is dedicated to fostering investigator growth and engagement within the organization.

Meet the NRG Oncology Early Career Mentored Fellows!

Connor Kinslow, MD | Focus: Brain Tumor

Liaison: Yoshie Umemura, MD

Dr. Kinslow is a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center specializing in the management of brain and genitourinary cancers. His research goal is advancing the treatment of primary brain tumors, particularly lower-grade gliomas and glioblastoma, through clinical trials, clinical epidemiology, and outcomes research.

George Naoum, MD | Focus: Breast Cancer

Liaison: Atif Khan, MD

Dr. Naoum is a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His research focuses on improving the precision and personalization of breast cancer radiation therapy, particularly for patients undergoing post-mastectomy radiation and breast reconstruction. His research goals include optimizing radiation treatment strategies to reduce complications, while maintaining excellent cancer control, using machine learning models and patient-centered outcomes to guide individualized care.

Katie Lichter, MD | Focus: Cancer Prevention & Control

Liaison: Mylin Torres, MD

Dr. Lichter is a breast radiation oncologist and cancer care delivery researcher at Dartmouth Cancer Center and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. Her research focuses on patient-centered, equitable, and environmentally sustainable models of cancer care. Her NRG fellowship work seeks to reduce the burdens of survivorship care including travel, financial, and time burdens while maintaining high-quality outcomes, particularly for patients in rural communities.

Oluwadunni Emiloju, MD | Focus: Gastrointestinal Cancer – Colorectal

Liaison: Heloisa Soares, MD, PhD

Dr. Emiloju is a Medical Oncologist at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown specializing in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. Her research is focused on developing improved therapeutic options for GI cancers, particularly colorectal cancer, through clinical and translational research. Her research efforts center on drug development and advancing novel treatments, with leadership roles as principal investigator on investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored clinical trials.

Sangjune Lee, MD | Focus: Gastrointestinal Cancer – Noncolorectal

Liaison: Evan Wuthrick, MD

Dr. Lee is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology at the Arthur Child Cancer Centre in Calgary, Canada.  He specializes in the management of breast and gastrointestinal malignancies. His research focuses on improving the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, particularly esophageal cancer, through innovative radiation therapy approaches.

Peter Lee, MD | Focus: Genitourinary Cancer

Liaison: Karen Hoffman, MD

Dr. Lee is a radiation oncologist at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute. His research focuses on advancing the treatment of genitourinary malignancies through clinical and translational research, with particular expertise in brachytherapy and online adaptive radiotherapy. Primarily, his research explores how exercise science and metabolic health can improve cancer treatment outcomes and survivorship across the cancer care continuum.

Katelyn Handley, MD | Focus: Gynecologic Cancer – Cervix

Liaison: Trey Leath, MD

Dr. Handley is an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Her research focuses on advancing cervical cancer and ovarian cancer research through translational science and cooperative group clinical trials and by developing novel therapeutic strategies and optimizing treatment approaches, with a particular emphasis on integrating laboratory discoveries into practice-changing clinical studies.

Jordyn Silverstein, MD | Focus: Gynecologic Cancer – Developmental Therapeutics

Liaison: Floor Backes, MD

Dr. Silverstein is a clinical instructor focusing on Medical Gynecologic Oncology in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at University of California, Los Angeles. Her research is focused on advancing novel therapeutics for gynecologic cancers through innovative clinical trials, with particular interests in hormone-based combination therapies and antibody-drug conjugates. Her research goal is to develop and lead practice-changing research, while expanding early-phase investigator-initiated trials and translating emerging therapies into improved treatment options for patients with gynecologic malignancies.

Lindsay McLarnen, MD | Focus: Gynecologic Cancer – Ovarian
Liaison: Angeles Secord, MD

Dr. McAlarnen is an assistant professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Buffett Cancer Center. Her research focuses on translating novel therapies into practice for patients with challenging gynecologic malignancies, including rare ovarian cancer subtypes, recurrent ovarian cancer, and populations often underrepresented in trials. Specifically, Dr. McAlarnen is interested in pragmatic trial designs that improve access to the benefits of clinical research, as well as fostering collaboration between basic science, translational research, and clinical trial development.

Julia Blanter, MD | Focus: Gynecologic Cancer – Uterine Corpus

Liaisons: Linda Duska, MD & Joyce Barlin, MD

Dr. Blanter is an assistant attending physician in gynecologic medical oncology and early drug development at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her research focuses on advancing early-phase clinical trials and translational research in gynecologic oncology, with a particular emphasis on overcoming immunotherapy resistance in endometrial cancer. Her efforts focus on understanding the biological mechanisms driving treatment resistance, developing novel therapeutic strategies, and bringing innovative therapies to patients with gynecologic and other solid tumors.

Christina Henson, MD | Focus: Head and Neck Cancer

Liaison: Shlomo Koyfman, MD

Dr. Henson is an associate professor, Executive Vice-Chair, and Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Oklahoma Stephenson Cancer Center. Her research focuses on advancing treatment strategies for head and neck cancers through the integration of radiotherapy with systemic therapies, including immunotherapy, while prioritizing patient quality of life and clinical outcomes. Her research efforts include clinical trial development, translational research, and optimizing treatment approaches across the disease spectrum, particularly for recurrent and palliative settings.

Ahmed Elamir, MD | Focus: Lung Cancer

Liaison: Zhongxing Liao, MD

Dr. Elamir is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. His research focuses on advancing ablative and adaptive radiation therapy strategies for thoracic malignancies, particularly patients with anatomically challenging non-small cell lung cancers. His work explores innovative approaches to safely expand the population of patients eligible for curative-intent radiotherapy through treatment adaptation, precision radiation delivery, and multicenter clinical trial development. Through the NRG Early Career Mentored Fellowship Program, he aims to develop collaborative studies that improve outcomes and broaden access to effective radiation therapy for patients with high-risk thoracic cancers.