Welcome to the Radiation Research Program
The RRP is responsible for NCI’s clinically-related extramural radiation research program. The RRP establishes priorities, allocates resources, and evaluates the effectiveness of such radiation research being conducted by NCI grantees. RRP staff represent the program at NCI management and scientific meetings and provide scientific support to leadership on matters related to radiation research. The RRP coordinates its activities with other radiation research programs at NCI, NIH, other Federal agencies, and national and international research organizations, and it provides a focal point within NIH for extramural investigators concerned with clinically related radiation research.
RRP is divided into three branches: The Radiotherapy Development Branch (RDB), the Clinical Radiation Oncology Branch (CROB) and the Molecular Radiation Therapeutics Branch (MRTB).
As part of ongoing efforts to stimulate research in radiotherapy and radiation biology, the RRP supports basic, translational, and clinical research in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) by:
- Providing expertise to investigators and potential grantees who perform cutting-edge research with radiation and other forms of energy
- Helping to lead the radiotherapy research community in establishing priorities for the future direction of radiation research, including interagency cooperation and collaboration
- Developing and promoting collaborative efforts among extramural investigators for both preclinical and clinical investigations
- Creating unique models and capabilities to help and mentor medically underserved communities in the United States and worldwide to access cancer clinical trials
- Evaluating the effectiveness of radiation research being conducted by NCI grantees
- Advising the NCI-funded clinical trials groups and the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) regarding scientific priorities and quality assurance in clinical studies with radiotherapy
- Through the Molecular Radiation Therapeutics Branch, providing guidance to extramural investigators, collaborating with DCTD experts and working with colleagues in the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research to develop novel combined modality therapy.
- Serving as the NCI’s liaison and advisor on the mitigation of radiation injury to normal tissue and the development of biomarkers for radiation injury in programs addressing radiological and nuclear terrorism in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the Department of Health and Human Services.
Associate Director
C. Norman Coleman, MD, Associate Director for the Radiation Research Program (RRP), received his medical training at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Coleman completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, a fellowship in medical oncology at NCI, and a fellowship in radiation oncology at Stanford University. He is board-certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and radiation oncology.
Dr. Coleman was a tenured faculty member in Radiology and Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine before joining Harvard Medical School in 1985 as the Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller-American Cancer Society Professor and Chairman of the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy. More…