Walter J. Curran Jr.

Walter "Wally" J. Curran, Jr. (born April 24, 1951) is an American radiation oncologist specializing in the treatment of malignant brain tumors and locally advanced lung cancer.[1] He is the global chief medical officer of GenesisCare, a provider of cancer and cardiovascular care that serves communities in 440 locations across the world.[2]

Early life and education

Curran was born and raised in Beverly, Massachusetts. He graduated with honors from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, Georgia. Originally interested in pediatric oncology, he became a radiation oncologist after taking an open slot in a radiation oncology elective at the former Joint Center for Radiation Therapy in Boston, Massachusetts.[3] He completed his residency in the Department of Radiation Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and his internship in internal medicine at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]

Career

Prior to joining GenesisCare in 2021, Curran was the executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He also served as a group chairman and a principal investigator of NRG Oncology, an international cancer clinical trials network group funded by the National Cancer Institute.[4] Previously, Curran was professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and clinical director of the Kimmel Cancer Center from 1994 to 2008.[5] When appointed executive director of Winship Cancer Institute in 2009, he became the first radiation oncologist to serve as director of a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.[1] He was a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He was also named a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and Chair in Cancer Research in 2013.[6] He serves as the founding secretary/treasurer of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups[7] and a board member of the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (Georgia CORE).[8]

In 2015, former President Jimmy Carter named Curran as one of the physicians treating him for metastatic melanoma.[9]

In his research, Curran has led several landmark clinical and translational trials[10] and is responsible for defining a universally adopted staging system for patients with malignant glioma.[11]

Honors and awards

Curran is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology and has been awarded honorary memberships in the European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology[12] and the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology.[1] The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research listed Curran among the top 20 principal investigators in terms of overall National Institutes of Health funding in 2012[13] and 2013,[14] first in the state of Georgia, and first among cancer center directors. Curran received the Gold Medal Award from the American Society for Radiation Oncology in 2019.[15]

Personal life

Curran lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Laura Palickar, and children. An avid runner, he is an age-competitive middle distance racer.[16]

References
  1. "Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, FACR, FASCO". winshipcancer.emory.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  2. "GenesisCare Announces New Global Chief Medical Officer and Winship Cancer Institute Names Interim Executive Director - The ASCO Post". ascopost.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  3. "Meet Walter J. Curran Jr., MD, FACR". ASCO Connection. 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  4. "Scientific Focus". www.nrgoncology.org. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  5. "Brief History - Thomas Jefferson University - Thomas Jefferson University". www.jefferson.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  6. "Georgia Research Alliance". gra.org. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  7. "Georgia CORE Board Member Walter J. Curran, Jr, MD Named Eminent..." www.georgiacancerinfo.org. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  8. "Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, FACR". www.georgiacancerinfo.org. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  9. Virginia Anderson, For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Treating Jimmy Carter's cancer". ajc. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  10. "Walter Curran - Google Scholar Citations". Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  11. Curran, Walter J.; Scott, Charles B.; Horton, John; Nelson, James S.; Weinstein, Alan S.; Fischbach, A. Jennifer; Chang, Chu H.; Rotman, Marvin; Asbell, Sucha O.; Krisch, Robert E.; Nelson, Diane F. (1993-05-05). "Recursive Partitioning Analysis of Prognostic Factors in Three Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Malignant Glioma Trials". JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 85 (9): 704–710. doi:10.1093/jnci/85.9.704. ISSN 0027-8874. PMID 8478956.
  12. "ESTRO - ESTRO Hall of Fame". www.estro.org. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  13. "Winship director ranks 22nd in NIH research funding". news.emory.edu. 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  14. "Curran in top 20 for NIH funding". winshipcancer.emory.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  15. "Gold Medal Award - American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) - American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)". ASTRO. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  16. "Wally Curran Reflects on a Career in Academic Oncology - The ASCO Post". www.ascopost.com. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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