Physics Winner:
Cory Robert Wyatt was born in Richland, WA, USA in 1984. He received his BS degree in Bioengineering from the University of Washington in 2006. After completing his degree, he enrolled in the PhD program in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Duke University in 2006, working with the Hyperthermia Research group under Dr James MacFall. His research focused on correcting for errors in magnetic resonance (MR) thermometry, for which he developed B0 field correction algorithms and characterized methods for performing MR thermometry in fatty tissue. He recently defended his dissertation titled “Development of MR Thermometry Strategies for Hyperthermia of Extremity and Breast Tumors” in April 2010. Currently, he is working on developing MR thermometry strategies for the abdomen with the Hyperthermia Research group at Duke University. His other research interests include MR phase imaging, water-fat separation, motion and breathing artifact correction, and MR coil development.
Clinical Winner:
Rosalinda Alvarado MD is currently a fourth year resident in the department of General Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. She completed her undergraduate training at Northwestern University and medical school at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her interests include women's health and oncology. She is currently working on several research projects focused on breast cancer. She has worked closely with her mentor, Dr Dowlatshahi, an innovative breast surgeon at Rush. A current clinical trial focuses on the use of thermal therapy in post-lumpectomy patients. The goal is to replace post-operative radiation therapy with thermal therapy. Other interests include the role of sentinel lymph node micrometastases in terms of prognosis and treatment of breast cancer and the use of interstitial laser therapy in ablating small fibroadenomas and small breast cancers. Future plans include entering a breast oncology fellowship in 2011 upon completing her general surgery training.
Biology Winner:
Dr Okayama received an MD degree from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in March 2001. Clinically, he specializes in gastroenterological medicine. Recently he also received a PhD degree from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, under the tutelage of Professor Toshikazu Yoshikawa.
His doctoral thesis focused on the antitumor effect of hyperthermia combined with geranylgeranylacetone in primary and experimental metastasis models. In this research, he developed the hypothesis that hyperthermia reduces metastasis from the primary tumor via an immunologic response. His clinical research interests now lie in combination therapies involving hyperthermia, chemotherapy and immunotherapy for advanced cancers, with the goal of targeting tumor stem cells, which are notoriously resistant to traditional chemotherapy by itself.