The ASRT has announced the recipients of its distinguished author awards, recognizing the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT’s scientific journals in 2024. Presented annually, the awards are chosen by members of each journal’s respective Editorial Review Board after a comprehensive review of all scholarly articles published in the journals during the previous calendar year.

The Radiologic Technology Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Jean I. Widger goes to Kerry O. Dunn, Ed.D., R.T.(R)(M). Her article, “Exploring the Definition of Clinical Radiography Leadership,” was published in the January/February 2024 issue of Radiologic Technology.

Dr. Dunn is the radiography senior lecturer for Georgia Southern University in Savannah. Her research interests focus on clinical leadership and mentoring.

The study’s goal was to develop a model of clinical leadership that encompasses the specialized technical skills and leadership behaviors exhibited by clinical radiography leaders. The study concluded that by defining the clinical expertise, technical skills and commonly practiced leadership behaviors that clinical radiography leaders encompass, other health care professionals will recognize the unique contribution that the radiologic science profession provides.

In addition, this year the Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Harold Silverman goes to Alex Ashley, B.P.S., R.T.(R)(T), Mark Roytman, B.S., R.T.(T), Vishruta Dumane, Ph.D., DABR, Keith Edwards, A.A.S., R.T.(T), Karyn Goodman, M.D., and Samantha Skubish, M.S., R.T.(R)(T), for their article, “High-Dose Gating Protocol for Deaf Patients in Radiation Oncology,” which was published in the fall 2024 issue of Radiation Therapist.

Ashley is the quality improvement coordinator for the department of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital and serves as vice president of the Radiation Therapy Association of New York State. Roytman is the lead radiation therapist for the department of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Dumane is the medical physicist and associate professor of radiation oncology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and clinical associate professor for the School of Health Professions at Stony Brook University in New York. Edwards served as assistant chief radiation therapist at Mount Sinai Hospital and currently is radiation oncology administrator at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Dr. Goodman is a professor and the vice chair for research in the department of radiation oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She also is associate director for clinical research for The Tisch Cancer Institute and coleader of the Center of Excellence in Pancreatic Cancer at Mount Sinai. Skubish is the chief technical director for the department of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Health System. She serves as vice chair of the ASRT Practice Standards Council, chair of the Radiation Therapy Association of New York State and leads the national advanced practice radiation therapy working group.

This case study discusses a 37-year-old man who presented with stage IV (cT3N1M1a) sigmoid colon cancer that had metastasized to the liver. The patient underwent stereotactic body radiation therapy using real-time, fiducial-based, triggered-imaging guidance and amplitude-based respiratory gating at exhalation. In addition to the cancer diagnosis, the patient was deaf and had a substantial medical and surgical history for other comorbidities. The multidisciplinary team must work to ensure that deaf patients are not excluded from gating treatment protocols typically achieved through verbal coaching. With appropriate visual setup, sign language interpretation and coaching through translation, culturally competent care can be provided successfully and seamlessly.

The Widger award is named after longtime Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger. The Silverman award is named in honor of radiation therapist Harold Silverman, an advocate for accreditation of radiation therapy education programs.

The ASRT will honor the recipients at the Honors Evening on June 20 at the 2025 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting.