October 29 2025
NRG Oncology (NRG), a National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group focused on improving outcomes for adults with cancer through multi-center clinical research, recently announced changes in leadership across multiple committees.
Vinai Gondi, MD, will be taking over the role of NRG Brain Tumor Committee Chair effective March 1, 2026. Dr. Vinai Gondi is a nationally recognized clinician-scientist and radiation oncologist specializing in the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. He currently serves as the Service Line Director of Radiation Oncology for Northwestern Medicine’s West Region and Proton Center and Clinical Associate Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Gondi is widely known for pioneering hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiotherapy (HA-WBRT), a technique that has led to practice-changing clinical trials in NRG and RTOG, including RTOG 0933, NRG-CC001, and NRG-CC003. He has served as Principal Investigator or Co-PI on several NCI-sponsored phase II/III trials focused on improving cognitive outcomes and survival in patients with brain tumors and has led national efforts in proton therapy research. His academic contributions include authorship of high-impact publications and leadership roles in developing national guidelines for brain metastases and glioblastoma through the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the Society of Neuro-oncology (SNO). He has received numerous honors, including the 2023 ASTRO Steven Leibel Memorial Award, and served in multiple key leadership positions within NRG Oncology. Dr. Gondi’s work continues to shape the future of neuro-oncology through clinical innovation, research, and guideline development.
Bridget Koontz, MD, will be the Chair of the NRG Ancillary Projects Committee effective November 1, 2025. Dr. Bridget Koontz is a distinguished clinician-scientist and radiation oncologist with a focus on genitourinary cancers, particularly prostate cancer. Currently serving as Medical Director of Radiation Oncology Services at AdventHealth Cancer Institute, she has held numerous leadership roles, including Chief Medical Officer at GenesisCare USA and Director of Radiation Oncology at Duke's Prostate and Urologic Cancer Center. Her research centers on improving cancer treatment outcomes while minimizing toxicity, with notable contributions to understanding and preventing radiation-induced erectile dysfunction, advancing radiopharmaceuticals, and leading national clinical trials in oligometastatic and localized prostate cancer. A prolific author and investigator, she has received multiple honors, including ASTRO Fellowship, and has significantly influenced the field through her translational and clinical research, editorial work, and service on national oncology committees. Previously, Dr. Koontz served as the Vice Chair of the of the NRG Ancillary Projects Committee and is the Principal Investigator of the currently enrolling NRG-GU011 “NRG PROMETHEAN” study for oligometastatic prostate cancer.
Priya Rastogi, MD, will become the Chair of the NRG Breast Cancer Committee effective March 1, 2026. Dr. Priya Rastogi is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and the Chief Executive and Medical Officer of the NSABP Foundation. A board-certified medical oncologist with over two decades of experience in clinical research, she specializes in early-stage breast cancer, with a focus on Phase II and III clinical trials in both adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings. Dr. Rastogi has been instrumental in leading landmark studies on HER2-positive and hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, contributing to major advancements such as trastuzumab and abemaciclib therapies. Her leadership roles span national and international research initiatives, including positions on multiple steering committees, institutional review boards, and oncology foundations like NRG and ASCO. She sees patients at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee-Women’s Hospital and has received multiple honors recognizing her clinical excellence and research contributions. Dr. Rastogi current serves on the NRG Board of Directors, as well as the NRG Investigator & Career Development Committee Vice Chair. She is a core member of the NRG Breast Cancer Committee and Ancillary Projects Committee.
Lisa Lenrow, MBA, was named the Vice Chair of the NRG Patient Advocate Committee. Ms. Lenrow is a seasoned biopharmaceutical marketing strategist with over 25 years of experience in driving data-informed, patient-centric marketing initiatives for life sciences companies. As a Senior Strategic Consultant at Symphony Health (now part of ICON), she leads multimillion-dollar omnichannel campaigns to optimize patient and provider engagement throughout the product lifecycle. Her professional expertise is matched by her personal commitment to advocacy, inspired by caregiving for her husband during his battles with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and glioblastoma. Lisa is a nationally recognized research advocate for several organizations, including the National Brain Tumor Society and Thomas Jefferson University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), where she ensures patient perspectives are integrated into clinical research. She has reviewed grants for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), and other major institutions, and actively contributes to policy change and awareness campaigns through public speaking, lobbying, and strategic advisory roles. Her unique blend of industry acumen and lived experience enables her to bridge the gap between science, care, and the patient voice.
NRG looks forward to the continued advances of the group’s research through the leadership and guidance of these individuals in their new roles.
NRG is exceedingly thankful to all of the outgoing committee leaders Dr. Minesh Mehta (Brain Tumor), Dr. Eleftherios ‘Terry’ Mamounas (Breast Cancer), and Dr. Steven Waggoner (Ancillary Projects) who dedicated much of their time and effort to make our committees what they are today.
For current open NRG committee leadership and member application cycles, please check the NRG website current openings page.
About NRG Oncology
NRG Oncology conducts practice-changing, multi-institutional clinical and translational research to improve the lives of patients with cancer. Founded in 2012, NRG Oncology is a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit corporation that integrates the research of the legacy National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), and Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) programs. The research network seeks to carry out clinical trials with emphases on gender-specific malignancies, including gynecologic, breast, and prostate cancers, and on localized or locally advanced cancers of all types. NRG Oncology’s extensive research organization comprises multidisciplinary investigators, including medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists, pathologists, and statisticians, and encompasses more than 1,300 research sites located world-wide with predominance in the United States and Canada. NRG Oncology is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network.
www.nrgoncology.org