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November 2003 American honour for radiation oncologist
Peter MacCallum Centre’s Professor Lester Peters has received a prestigious Gold Medal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO). Dr Peters, a past-president of ASTRO, was recognised for his excellence in pre-clinical and clinical research, his ability to translate research into practical clinical research and his many contributions to improve the standard of practice in radiation oncology. The Gold Medal, ASTRO’s highest honour, is bestowed on revered radiation oncologists, biologists and physicists. It is the first time the Gold Medal has been awarded to someone working outside the United States. Dr H. Rodney Withers, Professor and Chair in the UCLA Department of Radiation Oncology—considered the pre-eminent clinically-oriented radiation biologist in the world—said Dr Peters had made major contributions to the treatment of cancer in many different ways and on three different continents. ‘He is a skilled and thoughtful physician, an accomplished clinical and laboratory researcher and an effective administrator and advocate for radiation oncology.’ Dr Peters was born in Queensland, graduating in 1966 in Medicine with First Class Honors and a Gold Medal from the University of Queensland. He received his training in radiation oncology at the Queensland Radium Institute and Royal Brisbane Hospital. His research and work then took him to London, Houston and Sydney before returning to Houston. During his years in the U.S., Dr Peters was on the Board of Directors of ASTRO for nine years, as a member-at-large, then Secretary, President and Chairman of the Board. He was a Trustee of the American Board of Radiology, a member of the Council of the Radiation Research Society, on major committees of the National Cancer Institute, the American College of Radiology, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, National Council on Radiation Protection and the American Radium Society. Back in Australia since 1995, he created a dynamic Radiation Oncology and Cancer Centre at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He is currently Dean of the Faculty of Radiation Oncology for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology and has been, or is still, on the boards of all the major cancer organisations in Australia, such as the Cancer Council, Cancer Network, National Cancer Control Initiative, Clinical Oncology Society, Head and Neck Society and the increasingly effective Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group. He was the Congress Chairman for the International Congress of Radiation Oncology in 2001 and this year was President of the International Congress of Radiation Research. He is currently on the editorial boards of seven journals. Since 1985, he has been awarded an average of one major lectureship or medal per year in centres or societies around the globe. |
