May 27, 2023

Re-MEMBER KASTRO

Dear colleagues, friends, current and future KASTRO members,

This is Nathan Kim, coming to you almost halfway through 2023, with GREAT NEWS!

KASTRO 2023, San Diego is now officially OPEN for registration.

I am beyond excited as we are anticipating a fantastic meeting once again. Beyond the outstanding program, the outrageously generous educational travel grants, and the camaraderie of the US and Korean/International attendees, our firm belief is that KASTRO will once again be great, because of YOU, the members who attend. Each and every one of YOU, who are part of this organization breathes and renews life and character to KASTRO each year, as we continue to not only survive but thrive, and as we make lasting memories (“Choo-UK”). Simply put, YOU make KASTRO great!

Now we also ask YOU to REMEMBER KASTRO, and Re-MEMBER this day (this involves some clicks on a website and just $125.00 – see hyperlink #5 below)

- By the way, because I know you will be shocked by this, I wanted to reiterate that this is absolutely true. Despite the economy, there is NO INFLATION to KASTRO membership fee this year as long as it’s paid prior to October 2nd 2023 (KASTRO meeting day) -What a great deal!!

The contents for this newsletter have been prepared for your review as below, and we hope you will read through it all. But feel free also to use the hyperlinks to get to the topic of interest immediately.

Thank YOU all for your partnership, and support. Have a great week and Re-MEMBER KASTRO this day!

Respectfully,

D. Nathan Kim

Newsletter Contents:

1. KASTRO 2022 Recap
2. KASTRO 2023 Annual Meeting Details – Abstract deadline 7/10/23
3. FARO meeting in Seoul – ABSTRACT DEADLINE 6/1/23
4. DYNAMIC WEDGE: KASTRO’s 2023 GOLF TOURNAMENT – Torrey Pines South (WOW!!!) – Limited Space, Sign up ASAP!
5. Call for Annual Membership DUES – ReMEMBER THIS DAY!!!

KASTRO 2022 Recap

The 2022 KASTRO annual meeting was a great success, held on Tuesday, October 25, 2022, at Biga on the Banks in San Antonio, TX. We had welcome remarks from KASTRO President Dr Isabelle Choi and KOSRO Secretary of the Scientific Committee Dr Chan Woo Wee, followed by a great Varian sponsored session.

Congratulations to the 2022 Robert Y. Kim MD annual US KASTRO Travel Grant Award Winner Dr Sung Jun Ma (PGY5 at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center) for his presentation on “Efficacy of Prophylactic High-Dose Gabapentin and Venlafaxine Among Patients Treated with Chemoradiation for Head and Neck Cancer: A Single-Institution Randomized Phase II Trial”

Congratulations to the 2022 KOSRO Travel Grant Award Winner Dr Joseph Kim (PGY4 at NYU Langone Health) for his presentation on “Circulating Tumor HPV-DNA Kinetics in p16+ Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients Undergoing Adaptive Radiation De-escalation Based on Mid-treatment Nodal Response”

Congratulations to the 2022 KOSRO/KASTRO Travel Grant Award Winner Dr Byung-Hee Kang (Seoul National University Bundang Hospital) for his presentation on “Radiosensitivity and immune cell infiltration signature predict clinical outcome of patients in the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC) study cohort”

We also elected our new KASTRO officers, President Dr D. Nathan Kim and Vice President Dr Yong Cha.

KASTRO 2023 Annual Meeting

The upcoming KASTRO annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 2, 2023, at 6pm at Parq in San Diego, CA. 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 electronic invitation will be sent out in the coming weeks so please make sure that your Registration is up to date. We hope to see all of you there!

Call for Abstract Submissions for Travel Grant Awards

We would like to invite submissions of abstracts for KASTRO’s 2023 Robert Y. Kim MD annual U.S. resident/fellow travel grant award to ASTRO/KASTRO 2023. The 2023 Robert Y. Kim MD travel grant award to the ASTRO/KASTRO 2023 meeting will be $1,000 towards travel expenses and a certificate. The recipient of this award must be able to present the selected abstract at the KASTRO dinner meeting on Tuesday, October 2, 2023, at 6pm in San Diego, CA.

We would also like to invite submissions of abstracts for KASTRO's annual US resident/fellow/junior faculty travel award to Seoul, Korea for the 2023 Korean Society for Radiation Oncology (KOSRO) meeting on October 11-13, 2023, at The-K Hotel, Seoul, Korea (http://faro-kosro-2023.org). KOSRO's website is http://www.kosro.or.kr and FARO’s website is http://faro.asia. The 2023 travel grant award to the KOSRO meeting will be $2,000 towards travel expenses and a certificate. The recipient of this award must be able to present the selected abstract at the meeting in Seoul, Korea, during October 11-13, 2023.

Eligibility for both awards: A resident physician (MD or DO) or fellow (MD or DO) of Korean ancestry currently in a radiation oncology training program in the United States. Physicians who completed radiation oncology residency training in the United States before 6/30/23 are still eligible if the work was completed during residency or fellowship training. The abstract should have been accepted for presentation (oral or poster) at this year’s ASTRO meeting, and the applicant should be the first author.

Please email your abstract submission by Monday, July 10, 2023, to ellen_kim@dfci.harvard.edu, including your name, degree(s), year of training, institution, and whether you are able to attend the ASTRO and/or KOSRO meetings to present in person.

Joint KOSRO / FARO meeting will be October 11-13, 2023, in Seoul

The 2023 Korean Society for Radiation Oncology (KOSRO) meeting will be a joint meeting with The Federation of Asian Organizations for Radiation Oncology (FARO) on October 11-13, 2023, at The-K Hotel, Seoul, Korea. Accepting abstracts until 6/1/23. Please contact Dr D. Nathan Kim or Dr Yong Cha for additional information.

KOSRO/FARO joint meeting: http://faro-kosro-2023.org
KOSRO: http://www.kosro.or.kr
FARO: http://faro.asia

Dynamic Wedge: KASTRO’s 2023 Golf Tournament

KASTRO has a long history of getting together to play golf at ASTRO meetings. This year, we are excited to announce we are bringing golf back! Please join us for Dynamic Wedge, KASTRO’s 2023 Golf Tournament. The $412 registration fee includes 18 holes at the world famous Torrey Pines Golf Course (home of the PGA Tour and US Open), cart fee, prizes, and lunch. Limited spots available at www.koreanastro.org/golf-2023. Register now!

@KoreanASTRO is now on Twitter!

Call for Annual Membership Dues

I would like to invite you to pay your annual KASTRO membership 2023 dues of $125. We have not increased these rates for many years.

Your membership dues will help support the KASTRO dinner program and KASTRO Travel Grant Awards. We can all fondly remember our days as radiation oncology residents, and this is an important way for each of us to continue to foster our relationship with the next generation. KASTRO does not charge radiation oncology residents a membership fee due to the generosity of its members.

Over the years, KASTRO has been an excellent organization in providing scholarships to deserving U.S. and Korean residents, mentorship of residents and young attending physicians, and fostering fellowship among the Korean radiation oncology community. It is a unique organization that has served its members well. We look forward to making this organization grow and continuing to meet the needs of its members.

You can pay your dues online at https://www.koreanastro.org/membership. You could also bring a check for the annual dues to the KASTRO dinner. If you need to mail a check, need a receipt for tax purposes, or have any other questions regarding dues payments, please email Dr Stella Yoo stella.yoo@med.usc.edu.

Membership Dues

Resident: Free
Member: $125 (tax deductible) prior to 2023 KASTRO Meeting (by October 1, 2023); $150 from 10/2/2023.
Board Member and Executive Committee Members: $200 (tax deductible)
Donations: flexible (tax deductible)

https://www.koreanastro.org/membership

Membership

Please continue to tell your peers and colleagues about KASTRO and our upcoming Annual Meeting! If you have graduated or moved to a new job, please submit an update using the Registration form here: https://www.koreanastro.org/membership with your new information.

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 Dr. Ellen Kim for distribution to the appropriate list.

KASTRO Leadership 2023

President: D. Nathan Kim, MD
Vice President: Yong Cha, MD
*Secretary: Anna Lee, MD
Treasurer: Stella Yoo, MD
Membership Director & Webmaster: Ellen Kim, MD
*Members in Training Team Lead: Joseph Kim, MD

*New positions: Please welcome Drs Anna Lee and Joseph Kim to our KASTRO Leadership Team 2023!

Much gratitude to our Board of Directors and Executive Committee for your service to KASTRO!

Board of Directors

Chung-Taik Chung
Seung Shin Hahn
Robert Y. Kim
Chul S. Ha
Hak Choy
Joseph Song
Young Chan Ahn (ex-officio member)

Executive Committee

Isabelle Choi
John Suh
Sung Kim
Sara Kim
Song Chu Arthur Ko
Julia Oh
Song Kang (nominating committee chair)
Hak Choy
Joseph Song
Song Chu Arthur Ko

Thank you to all of you for making KASTRO possible through your continued participation and support! I look forward to seeing everyone at this year’s Annual Meeting. Please reach out to me at any time with questions or concerns.

With regards,

D. Nathan Kim, MD
President, KASTRO