January 19 2021
We hope everyone is well and looking forward to our NRG Oncology Virtual Meeting later this month. We are writing to inform you that Dr. Wally Curran, our good friend and NRG Oncology Group Chair colleague, has notified us that he will step down from his roles as the NRG Oncology Presiding Group Chair and as one of the three principal investigators of the NRG Oncology Operations Awards from the National Cancer Institute. As some of you may know, Wally is transitioning from his roles at Emory University as the Winship Cancer Institute Executive Director and the Department of Radiation Oncology Chairman to serve as the Global Chief Medical Officer of GenesisCare, an international provider of cancer and cardiology care. He expressed to us concern that the responsibilities of his new role will not provide him with the ability to continue his outstanding work as one of NRG Oncology’s Group Chairs.
Wally was one of the founding Group Chairs of NRG Oncology along with Norman and Phil DiSaia in 2013, and prior to its formation, served as the Group Chairman of the RTOG, one of NRG Oncology’s three legacy groups, dating back to 1997. Wally has been a transformative leader in shaping NRG Oncology into the highly successful modern research organization that it is today. In particular, he served as a key architect of the highly successful application in 2013 and competitive renewal application in 2018 for NRG Oncology’s NCI awards. His energy and dedication to NRG Oncology’s Mission have been an exceptional example for other investigators young and old as the group matures into the latter stages of its first decade of operations.
While Wally’s commitment to NRG Oncology will be tough to replace, we have already begun our leadership transitional planning and will keep all of you informed regarding next steps. While we work through these details, Dr. Mitchell Machtay, NRG Oncology Deputy Group Chair for Research and Associate Director for Clinical Research, Penn State Cancer Institute has been proposed as PD/PI for the Operations Center grant and Interim Group Chair, subject to approval by the NCI.A search will be held to identify a candidate to be appointed permanently.
But for now, we know that all of you join the two of us in giving a very strong “THANK YOU” to Wally for the all of his tremendous work on behalf of the group!!