Dear KASTRO Members:
The past year continues to find KASTRO in a stage of evolution and growth. There has been an infusion of energy into the organization, in large part due to the increase in resident and young attending interest in being active in new KASTRO initiatives. Of course, none of this would be made possible without the stalwart guidance and support of our longtime leadership, who provide a strong foundation for our organization during their many years of service.
KASTRO 2018 Recap
The 2018 KASTRO annual meeting was a great success. Held on October 23, 2018, at Biga on the Banks in San Antonio, Texas, we had fantastic attendance to the event, almost overfilling the venue space. Dr. Sara Kim kicked off the meeting, acknowledging the efforts of our board and executive leadership over the past year. Dr. Isabelle Choi announced the year’s abstract competition winners, awarding the 2018 KASTRO travel grant to Dr. Joon K. Lee for his work entitled "Voxel-based texture analysis of multiparametric MRI for intraprostatic tumor volume delineation,” and the 2018 KOSRO travel grant to Dr. Aileen Kim for her work entitled “Impact of double/triple hit lymphoma on radiotherapy efficacy among patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma.” The KOSRO abstract competition winner was also recognized, Dr. Seung Yeun Chung, for her work on "S-1 plus cisplatinbased chemoradiotherapy after induction chemotherapy for locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma; phase II trial." All three abstracts were presented by the winners. Dr. Martin Fuss represented our Platinum sponsor for the evening, Viewray, At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Isabelle Choi was nominated to act as President for the following year, which was voted on and approved by the members. Photos from the event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/koreanastro/.
KASTRO 2019 Annual Meeting
The upcoming KASTRO annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, at 6pm, at 14 Parish in Chicago, Illinois. Many thanks to our Executive Leadership on their hard work procuring event space and sponsorship to help make this event a success. At the meeting, we will again announce the winners of our annual abstract competition and allow them the opportunity to present the novel research being performed by our young members. We will also provide updates on new initiatives being undertaken and other new developments. An evite invitation will be sent out in the coming weeks. We hope to see all of you there!
Call for Annual Membership Dues
The existence and continued growth of our organization would not be possible without the support of all of our members. One important way that each of you contribute each year to KASTRO is by paying your annual membership dues. We hope that you will take a moment out of your day to please pay your dues! This will be the last year that you will need to pay either via check sent by mail (address below) or at the door by cash or card at the Annual Meeting, as next year we plan to have a website-based payment option available. Until then, we appreciate your continued support of our educational mission to encourage the academic and research growth of our young Korean-American radiation oncologists through funding of the travel grants with your dues. In addition, our residents are granted free KASTRO membership, and your contributions help to cover the associated expense at the annual meeting. This aspect of our membership structure is critical to help foster the involvement of our next generation of radiation oncologists in the organization and to provide more opportunities for their networking, mentorship, and relationship-building with the older members of the group.
Membership Dues
Resident: Free
Member: $125
Board Member and Executive Committee Members: $200
If you would like a receipt for tax purposes, please provide a return mailing address. Email Dr. Daniel Kim with any questions regarding dues payments.
Membership
Please continue to tell your peers and colleagues about KASTRO and our upcoming Annual Meeting! We will be sending out invitations shortly, so please send contact information to Ellen Kim of anyone interested in attending this year’s meeting so that they can be added to the invitation list.
KASTRO Membership Form: link
Job Opportunities
One of the primary missions of KASTRO is to provide a network of support for our resident and young faculty members as they begin their career journeys. To this end, if you are aware of any available job positions, please email Isabelle Choi for distribution to the appropriate list.
KASTRO Website
Enlisting the help and technical savvy of our new Membership Director, Dr. Ellen Kim, we will plan to launch our new KASTRO website in time for the KASTRO annual meeting. This will serve as a digital platform for communication for our members, with features including our organization’s mission statement, leadership, upcoming events, member accomplishments and announcements, membership directory, and dues payment portal. Stay tuned for more on this! K
ASTRO Mentorship Program
2018 saw the inaugural year of the KASTRO Mentorship Program, an effort spearheaded by members Dr. Anna Lee, Dr. John Byun, and Dr. Sara Kim. 17 mentor-mentee pairs were created. Drs. Lee and Byun will generously continue to lead the program for an additional year, and we hope to expand the program in the coming year as well. If you might be interested in participating in this program, please email Dr. Anna Lee and Dr. John Byun with your basic information (name, contact information, institution/practice, training year or year in practice) and with the following information:
Senior Attendings (>3 years in practice):
• If you prefer to mentor a 1) Junior Faculty (1-3 years in practice), 2) Resident, 3) Medical Student
• If you are currently in a primarily 1) Academic or 2) Private Practice setting
Junior Attendings (1-3 years in practice):
• If requesting a MENTOR, do you prefer a mentor primarily in a 1) Academic or 2) Private Practice setting
• If requesting a MENTEE, do you prefer a 1) Resident or 2) Medical Student mentee
• For BOTH scenarios, answer: are you currently in a primarily 1) Academic or 2) Private Practice setting
Residents:
• If requesting a MENTOR, do you prefer a mentor primarily in a 1) Academic or 2) Private Practice setting
• If requesting a MENTOR, do you prefer a mentor who is a 1) Junior Faculty (1-3 years in practice) or 2) Senior Faculty (>3 years in practice)?
• If requesting a medical student MENTEE, please indicate this.
Medical Students:
• If requesting a MENTOR, do you prefer a mentor primarily in a 1) Academic or 2) Private Practice setting
• If requesting a MENTOR, do you prefer a mentor who is a 1) Resident, 2) Junior Faculty (1-3 years in practice) or 3) Senior Faculty (>3 years in practice)?
Based on your indicated preferences, we will match you with a mentor or mentee that matches the indicated profile as closely as possible. Another call for mentorship program members will go out in August of this year, and then new pairs will receive email confirmation prior to the KASTRO annual meeting.
KASTRO Budget 2018
Cash Flow (In)
Cash Flow (Out)
Net Increase/Decrease
KASTRO Leadership 2019
President: Isabelle Choi, MD
Secretary: Sara Kim, MD
Treasurer: Daniel Kim, MD
Membership Director: Ellen Kim, MD
After many years of indispensable leadership and service, Dr. Yong Cha will step down as Membership Director. Dr. Cha obtained non-profit status for our organization, which has had an invaluable positive impact on our organization and has helped launch it into a new phase of growth. We thank Dr. Cha for his contributions to the society, and we welcome Dr. Ellen Kim, who will be our new Membership Director.
Dr. Hak Choy and Dr. Joe Song were asked to serve on the Board of Directors at the 2018 KASTRO Annual Meeting. They are also members of the Executive Committee. Dr. Chul Ha will continue to serve on both the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Dr. Sung Kim ad Dr. John Suh will also continue to serve on the Executive Committee.
Much gratitude to all of our Board of Director and Executive Committee members for your service to KASTRO!
Board of Directors: Chuck Chul Young Cho, Noah Choi, Chung-Taik Chung, Seung Shin Hahn, Robert Y. Kim, Chul S. Ha, Hak Choy, Joseph Song, Young Chan Ahn (ex-officio member).
Executive Committee: John Suh, Sung Kim, Sara Kim, Julia Oh, Song Kang (nominating committee chair), Hak Choy, Joseph Song, Song Chu Arthur Ko.
Thank you to all for making KASTRO possible through your continued participation and support! I look forward to seeing everyone at this year’s Annual Meeting. Please do reach out to me at any time with questions or concerns.
With regards,
Isabelle Choi, MD