May 21 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 new chair and vice chair appointments to the NRG NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Cancer Prevention & Control (CPC) Committee.
Tracey Crane, PhD, RDN, was appointed Cancer Control Chair of the NRG CPC Committee. Dr. Crane previously held a vice chair role for this committee and replaces Dr. Lisa Kachnic who was recently named NRG NCORP’s Co-Principal Investigator. Dr. Crane is the Co-leader of the Cancer Control Research Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and an associate professor of medical oncology and public health at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. She is a distinguished leader in cancer control with her research priorities focused on improving adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors including diet, physical activity, and tobacco abstinence to reduce the risk of cancer and improve outcomes for cancer survivors. Dr. Crane’s research goals include developing targeted interventions that utilize ehealth tools and digital biomarkers to deliver the right intervention at the right time for cancer patients. In addition to her leadership role in cancer control at the University of Miami, Dr. Crane is also the Director for Lifestyle Medicine, Prevention and Digital Health at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Crane has extensive experience in the conduct of clinical trials and has served as co-chair for several NRG Oncology and other cooperative group protocols.
Mylin Torres, MD, was selected as the CPC Cancer Control Vice Chair, replacing Dr. Crane in that role. Dr. Torres joins Stephanie Blank, MD, as one of the two vice chairs for this committee. Dr. Torres is the James W. Keller Distinguished Professor in Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. She serves as the Co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and Vice Chair of academic operations and Director of the Division of Health Services Research, Outcomes, and Policy Research in the Emory Department of Radiation Oncology. As a specialist in breast cancer, Dr. Torres’ research program is dedicated to understanding the biology underlying treatment-related side effects, including chronic inflammation, radiation-induced skin changes, and cancer-related fatigue, and to developing interventions which will improve the life quality of breast cancer survivors. She is also examining ways that radiation in combination with novel systemic agents can be used to help patients with metastatic disease. Dr. Torres has an extensive track record of mentorship and the conduct of clinical trials and has served as co-chair for several NRG Oncology studies. Dr. Torres is also a member of the NCI Symptom Management and Health Related Quality of Life Steering Committee.
“We are excited to welcome our new CPC chair and vice-chair. Drs Crane and Torres both are renowned scientists, funded in their respective areas of research and have been active leaders and mentors in the NRG NCORP and members of the NCI Health Related Quality of Life Steering Committee. They will continue the CPC’s mission of testing interventions for cancer symptom management and dissemination of clinical practice changing outcomes,” noted Deborah Watkins Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, the Senior Vice President for Research at Emory University and the NRG NCORP Contact Principal Investigator.
NRG looks forward to the continued advances of the group’s research through the leadership and guidance of these individuals in their new roles.
Current NRG Oncology openings for leadership and committee applications can be found on the website at www.NRGOncology.org/Current-Openings
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