NRG NCORP Announces 2026 New Generation Investigator Awardees

09/16/2026

The NRG Oncology Next Generation Investigator Award was established by the NRG National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) in an effort to recognize community-focused researchers within NCORP who demonstrate strong early-career engagement with NRG Oncology trials with the potential to become future leaders in community oncology research. The 2026 Awardees presented their research during the NRG Oncology 2026 Summer Meeting in Denver, Colorado as part of the NCORP Town Hall.

Investigators selected for this award are within 12 years of completing their terminal degree (MD, PhD, DNP, etc.) and actively involved within NRG via working groups, committees, educational or mentorship activities, or contributions to protocols and concepts. Investigators must have opened and accrued to at least two NRG NCORP trials within 2 years prior to applying for the award or have served as the chair or co-chair of an NRG NCORP protocol.

If you are interested in applying for a future Next Generation Investigator Award, please visit  our Next Generation Investigator Award webpage closer to the 2027 Winter NRG Meeting for information on the next application cycle.

NRG Oncology congratulates the following investigators on being selected as 2026 Next Generation Investigators:

Erin Gillespie, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Washington and a clinical trialist and implementation scientist whose work focuses on breast cancer, metastatic disease, and improving equitable access to evidence-based cancer care. Her research centers on pragmatic, community-engaged clinical trials designed to generate practice-changing evidence and accelerate its adoption in real-world oncology settings. Her most significant NRG NCORP contribution is serving as Principal Investigator (PI) of NRG-CC014 (PREEMPT), a phase III pragmatic trial of early radiation for high-risk asymptomatic bone metastases that achieved exceptionally rapid accrual, enrolling 280 patients at 95 centers in just 11 months and closing early. Dr. Gillespie demonstrates sustained leadership in community-based research, including efforts at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance that increased clinical trial accrual in radiation oncology across affiliated partner sites, and her current leadership of community-partnered pilot trials in rural Washington. Her career is further distinguished by external funding, national oncology leadership, extensive mentorship and education, and a commitment to developing trials and implementation strategies that expand access to high-quality cancer care, particularly for geographically diverse populations.

Andrew J. Huang, MD, is a radiation oncologist at Aspirus Cancer Care where he leads the health system’s oncology cancer clinical research program. Since joining Aspirus in 2020, he has enrolled 247 patients to NRG trials and has consistently been among the highest-enrolling investigators nationally in NCI treatment trials, while his institution has ranked among the top NRG-accruing centers in multiple studies. He is an active NRG Oncology member serving on the Genitourinary Cancer and Radiation Oncology Committees and the Developmental Therapeutics RT Subcommittee, as well as on the NCI Prostate Task Force and Head/Neck Steering Committee. His career focus is on expanding access to clinical trials in community oncology, strengthening participation by community physicians, and bringing practical perspectives from rural practice into national trial development. His leadership, sustained trial accrual, committee engagement, and advocacy for community-based investigators reflect a strong commitment to making clinical research more accessible to patients outside major academic centers.