Meet the RTOG Foundation Communications Interns
June 12, 2023
RTOG Foundation (RTOGF) recently selected two communications interns to help RTOGF create social media content around RTOGF clinical trials. This will be a 12-month position starting July 1, 2023 and will allow each intern a way to get more involved with the RTOGF organization and cancer research. Interns will be also attending virtual meetings with the RTOGF Communications Committee, attending RTOGF Board Meetings, and have the opportunity to attend an RTOGF Investigators Meeting as well as the NRG Oncology Summer Meeting.
Danielle Cerbon, MD
Dr. Cerbon is a PGY-3 radiation oncology resident at the University of Miami Sylvester Cancer Center and Jackson Memorial Hospital. She is the current Chair of the Communications Committee for the Society for Women in Radiation Oncology (SWRO) where she oversees the organization’s social media platforms, website, and blog and helped launch SWRO’s Instagram account as well as produce all of their graphic design. She is also part of the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) Resident communication subcommittee where she helps with managing their Twitter account. Dr. Cerbon is a member of RTOGF and NRG Oncology and her research focuses on disparities in treatments and outcomes in women’s malignancies, including breast and gynecologic cancers, most recently with a lens on sexual health. Thus far, her academic work has concentrated specifically on disparities in the Black population in South Florida, in which she studied outcome differences in breast and gynecologic cancer between Caribbean and US-born women, as well as their risk factors and genetic variants. She has published several abstracts and articles on these topics. Dr. Cerbon’s ultimate goal is to improve care and equity for female oncology patients, particularly in minority populations.
Rituraj Upadhyay, MD
Dr. Upadhyay is a PGY-3 resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology at The Ohio State University Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital. He has been involved in the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) Communications Subcommittee as well as a Radiological Society of North American (RSNA) Resident Representative for 2023. Dr. Upadhyay expressed that he believes effective communication plays a vital role in trial enrollment as well as shaping public perception and behavior towards cancer care. His research focus is primarily in central nervous system tumors and improving outcomes especially by decreasing treatment-related toxicities and utilizing patient-reported outcomes. Dr. Upadhyay has been included in the author line of numerous publications, including being the lead author role on several publications in journals such as Applied Radiation Oncology, Neuro-Oncology, Frontiers in Oncology, Neuro-Oncology Advances, the International Journal Molecular Sciences, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy, The Breast Journal, the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapy, and the Journal of the Egyptian National Cancer Institute.
RTOGF is envigored by the vast experiences these two residents can provide to our organization and looks forward to these candidates’ contributions!