Jacobson elected future chair of the American Society for Radiation Oncology

Geraldine Jacobson, M.D., MPH, MBA, FACR, FASTRO, has been declared president-elect for the American Society for Radiation Oncology’s board of directors. Starting in October, she’ll serve in that role for one year, then serve as president the year following.

She currently serves as the secretary and treasurer of the ASTRO board, and previously served as chair for the organization’s government relations council. Jacobson also mentors radiation oncologists through virtual tumor boards with international clinics and contributes to national clinical trials as a member of the NRG Oncology breast cancer working group.

According to a release from ASTRO, Jacobson is both excited about and committed to incorporating diverse perspectives to bolster overall patient care.

“I am honored to be chosen as ASTRO’s President-elect at this momentous time. While we are in an age of unprecedented scientific discovery and progress in radiation oncology, there are also enormous challenges facing our specialty and our world. I am committed to listening to, and learning from, all of our members to identify thoughtful steps to foster diversity and inclusion, advance clinical care, support research and innovation, and influence health policy decisions. As ASTRO evolves to include more perspectives, I believe that working together will ensure that our specialty remains strong and provides our patients with the best possible care," she said in the release.

Jacobson became the founding chair and professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in 2012, and also serves as the physician in chief for radiology oncology for the WVU Medicine system. She was previously Associate Chair and residency program director for the University of Iowa Department of Radiation Oncology.

Her clinical research interests include image-guided radiation for breast and gynecologic cancer, quality of life and reduction of late normal tissue effects, and MRI based planning for HDR brachytherapy.

For more information about the Department of Radiation Oncology, visit https://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/radiation-oncology/.