Scientist William McBride, whose research focuses on the role of damage response to radiation in normal tissue and malignant tumors, has been given the Gold Medal award by the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the highest honor bestowed by the 10,000-member organization.
McBride, director of the division of cellular and molecular oncology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA, received the award during organization’s 52nd annual meeting, held last week in San Diego.
The Gold Medal is given to organization members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology, including research, clinical care, teaching and service, according to organization officials.
“This is then highest honor the society can bestow on a member,†said Dr. Michael Steinberg, chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA. “The department and the university are extremely proud of this recognition of Dr. McBride’s significant accomplishments in research, education and leadership.â€
A professor and vice chair for research for radiation oncology and a researcher with UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, McBride joined the UCLA faculty in 1984. Prior to coming UCLA, he served as a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he earned his bachelor’s, doctorate and doctor of science degrees.
McBride is a former member of the radiation oncology organization’s board of directors, as well as being a 20-year member of the organization. He also is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the Radiation Research Society, which in 2003 gave him the Failla Award for outstanding research.
In addition to his research on tissue and tumor damage response to radiation, McBride also is working to develop countermeasures that will help treat damage caused by radiological or nuclear threats such as a dirty bomb attack. A $14 million, five-year grant funding the research was recently renewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The research, McBride said, also might result in new strategies to reduce organ and tissue damage that occurs in cancer patients being treated with radiation therapy. McBride has already identified several compounds that may be effective in combatting radiation damage, include the antibiotic tetracycline.
McBride said he was “humbled and honored to receive the award†and noted that “the success of radiation therapy in treating cancer stems from a strong scientific basis to which he has been privileged to contribute.â€
UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has more than 240 researchers and clinicians engaged in disease research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation’s largest comprehensive cancer centers, the Jonsson center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. In July 2010, the Jonsson Cancer Center was named among the top 10 cancer centers nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, a ranking it has held for 10 of the last 11 years. For more information on the Jonsson Cancer Center, visit our website at http://www.cancer.ucla.edu.
