Awards
Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award Supported by Covidien
Application Deadline: November 15, 2013
The Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award promotes excellence in academic research for members early in their careers. This award honors the founding editor of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR) by recognizing the importance of the young investigator in developing the interventional solutions for the future.
In 1990, the SIR Foundation established the Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award as a way to recognize promising young practitioners of interventional medicine early in their careers and encourage their pursuit of academic careers. Each year an author of the most outstanding clinical science research paper submitted receives this distinguished award. The primary author must be within 5 years of completion of a fellowship in interventional radiology.
2013 Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award Recipient
Joseph P. Erinjeri, MD, PhD
Joseph P. Erinjeri, MD, PhD, assistant attending radiologist at
Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases is the recipient of
the 2013 Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award. His manuscript,
entitled "Image guided Thermal Ablation of Tumors Increases the Plasma
Level of IL-6 and IL-10," investigates image-guided ablation and
pharmacologic therapy.
Dr. Erinjeri received his bachelor’s degree with honors in 1994 from
the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He went on to receive his
medical degree and PhD from Washington University School of Medicine in
2002. He is an active member of SIR, serving on the SIR Foundation
Research Policy Division and the Society newsletter’s editorial board
and is also a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists
and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Dr. Erinjeri received an SIR Foundation Pilot Grant in 2009 to conduct
research entitled "Mediators Underlying Local Inflammation and
Treatment Response Following Thermal Ablation of Tumors." Upon
completion of this seed grant for his research, Dr. Erinjeri went on to
receive the SIR Foundation Dr. Ernest J. Ring Academic Development
Grant in 2012 to continue his research. In addition, he is currently
working on research funded by RSNA, the department of radiology at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Curing Kids Cancer
Foundation.
In addition to grant funding, Dr. Erinjeri received the RSNA Research
Scholar Award in 2012 and the Vascular/Interventional Fellow of the
Year from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2008. During the
SIR 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting, Dr. Erinjeri received a poster
award for his research in oncology/embolization. Over the course of his
career, Dr. Erinjeri has contributed to 19 peer-reviewed publications
and has been the guest lecturer on 13 different occasions.
Dr. Erinjeri notes that "Interventional radiologists have always
provided excellent clinical care but, as a specialty, we have more work
to do in validating our clinical practice with randomized controlled
trials and laboratory investigations." He adds, "This is the standard
to which other medical specialties hold themselves, and interventional
radiology should do the same."
The SIR Foundation
is honored to have received a charitable donation for unrestricted use
from Covidien. This SIR Foundation Dr. Gary J. Becker Young
Investigator Award, among other awards, is made possible through the
generosity of Covidien.