Research in Rad Onc vs. Other Research

[AD2020]

I've been reading through the list of successful matches in rad onc this year, and two things surprised me: (1) that so many people said they had LORs from very well known rad oncologists and (2) that about 80% had research within rad onc.

I'm a second year student and I've done research in two fields: nuclear medicine (where I have a first-author paper and a number of abstracts/presentations) and GI cancer (abstract and presentation).

The nuclear medicine research I did is leading to a clinical trial in radioimmunotherapy - specifically, treatment of metastatic melanoma with radio-labeled antibodies. My impression is that this is related to rad onc, but where is the line is drawn between rad onc and nuc med?

I think my research establishes that I'm very interested in oncology, but I'm worried that since it isn't in rad onc that it won't hold the same weight. My school does have a rad onc dept but I haven't gotten involved in it at all - any suggestions as to what's the best way to get involved? (I don't really have time to start new research, although I could take a year off in between 3rd and 4th year.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

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[Gfunk6]

The nuclear medicine research I did is leading to a clinical trial in radioimmunotherapy - specifically, treatment of metastatic melanoma with radio-labeled antibodies. My impression is that this is related to rad onc, but where is the line is drawn between rad onc and nuc med?

Wow, that's pretty impressive. It's rare that one can see the clinical trials resulting from basic research so quickly -- you should be proud. Under whose purview radioimmunotherapy falls is institution specific -- it can be rad onc, med onc, or nuc med. However, since you are quite clearly using radiation to treat malignant disease it seems to fall directly into the heading of radiobiology.

As a 2nd year student w/ a 1st author paper and multiple abstracts, you are far ahead of the game. Now would be a great time to ingratiate yourself with your local RadOnc Dept. Show your interest and try to get on a clinical or physics project to buff up your resume.

You are definitely on the right track to success. Score high on Step 1 and you will be in excellent shape.