Editors’ awardees for 2021

Editor in Chief’s comments

Each year, the Editors of the Journal examine papers that were nominated for The Editors’ Awards. These prestigious awards come with a cash prize (approximately $750) plus an award certificate and official recognition in the Journal for their scientific contribution. We had 29 nominations this year, which speaks to the continuing interest in publishing in the Journal.

This year, we selected Editors to review the manuscripts for the Editors’ Awards, based on the broad subjects of the papers. We asked Editors to consider novelty and impact as the main criteria to base their prioritization on. Scores from participating Editors were averaged to obtain the final ranking. Thanks to the following Editors, who gave of their time to provide us with assessments of the papers: Drs. Issels, Mauri, LeBlang, Rhim, Ziemlewicz, Wessalowski, Ghanouni, Cressman, Haemmerich, Stauffer, Diederich, Prakash, Kuroda, Repasky, Gaipl, and Horsman.

Any first or senior author who is less than 35 years of age at the time of the manuscript submission is eligible to nominate themselves for this award. This is done during the on-line manuscript submission process.

Winner in Physics/Engineering

Daan Löke (Msc). Demonstration of treatment planning software for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy in a rat model, https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2020.1852324, Department of Radiation Oncology, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Born and raised in Friesland in the northern part of the Netherlands, Daan Löke moved to Groningen to obtain his Bachelor degree in Physics in 2015 with a thesis titled ‘Correlation of MR image info with CT to improve the determination of proton stopping powers for proton therapy’ at the center of advanced radiation technology (KVI-CART) at the University of Groningen. Two years later he obtained his Master degree in theoretical physics with the focus on particle physics. His master thesis was entitled ‘The scalar spectrum of non-Abelian gauge theories below the conformal window’ on research performed at the van Swinderen Institute (VSI) for Particle Physics and Gravity at the University of Groningen. After his graduation, he returned to medical physics and was appointed a PhD position in the group of Hans Crezee and Petra Kok at the department of radiation oncology of the Amsterdam UMC/university of Amsterdam, working on the project ‘Development of patient specific treatment planning to enhance and optimize clinical effectiveness of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in colorectal cancer patients’. Together with Roxan Helderman, Daan aims to improve and optimize HIPEC treatments from a biological and from a physics perspective. His work focuses on the development and experimental validation of computational fluid dynamics-based simulations, explicitly mapping flow patterns in the peritoneal cavity of patients suffering from peritoneal metastasis of colorectal origin. Aim of the software is to optimize these flow patterns and improving thermal homogeneity during the treatment, maximizing the potential enhancement of the chemotherapy used. The paper published in the International Journal of Hyperthermia demonstrates the software in an anatomical rat model. Previous publications described the penetration of chemotherapy during HIPEC (Löke et al, Drug Delivery, 2020), the variation in the application of HIPEC (Helderman & Löke et al. Cancers, 2019), thermal validation of the software (Schooneveldt & Löke et al., Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020) and the design of an experimental in vivo HIPEC-setup (Löke & Helderman et al., Cancers, 2020). For finalization of his PhD thesis Daan plans to extend the software toward the application in human patients, with the intention to improve treatments setups such that HIPEC treatments become more effective.

Winner in Medicine

Ethan Shrinivasan. The intersection between immunotherapy and laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT): A multi-pronged future of neuro-oncology, https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2020.1746413, 4th Year Medical Student, Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University School of Medicine

Ethan’s primary research interests are in neuro-oncology, immunotherapy, and minimally-invasive surgical techniques. He is originally from Michigan, where he attended the University of Michigan and received his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry in 2013. After graduating college, he moved to Louisiana to work as a middle- and high-school math and science teacher in Tensas Parish and New Orleans. He matriculated to Duke University School of Medicine in 2017 and plans to apply for residency in neurological surgery. His primary research focus is aimed toward the development of novel adoptive cell therapies for primary and metastatic brain tumors based on the adaptation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell platforms, along with projects on the evolution of minimally-invasive surgical techniques including laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT). Outside of his academic pursuits, he is involved in several student groups and has served as the president of his school neurosurgery interest group and American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) student chapter. He remains involved in local public education and volunteering projects, and enjoys wilderness backpacking, golf, and supporting University of Michigan athletics in his free time. His long-term career goals are centered on a surgical practice in neuro-oncology, with a research focus on translational immunotherapeutic projects to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical applications.

Winner in Biology

Celia Marcondes, PhD. Macrophages and Brown Adipocytes cross-communicate to modulate a Thermogenic Program following Methamphetamine Exposure, https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2020.1849822, San Diego Biomedical Research Institute

Dr. Marcondes received her Ph.D. in Immunology from the Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Brazil. During undergrad, was an intern at the Serology and Immunology Lab in The Adolfo Lutz Institute, Sao Paulo, and the Hospital Emilio Ribas, which is the largest infectious diseases hospital in Latin America. There, she was part of a team of developers led by Dr. Augusta Takeda (MD, PhD), producing anti-serum in large and small animals, and researching new immunodiagnosis methods for Neisseria meningitis, Haemophilus influenza, and, at that time, HTLV-III, later known as HIV. She also worked in immunodiagnosis development at the Salck Industria e Comercio de Produtos Biologicos Ltda., Sao Paulo Brazil, before deciding to go back to the academia and pursue a PhD in Immunology. Her thesis at the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, supervised by Dr. Momtchilo Russo (MD, PhD), was in bone marrow changes and inflammation during Chagas' disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, with an emphasis on immunopathology. Her postdoc in the Department of Molecular Pathogenesis at the Skirball Institute, New York University, NY (under Dr. Juan Lafaille), and then in the Department of Neuropharmacology of The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA (under Dr. Howard Fox), focused on the Immune System within the Central Nervous System (CNS), neuroimmune interactions and how neurotransmitters affect immunity, inflammation and leukocyte migration, especially in infections such as HIV. Her recent studies have focused on CNS dysfunctions associated with chronic HIV and the role of co-morbidities, such as drug abuse and aging, on aggravating neuro-immune pathogenesis. Dr. Marcondes also studies how drugs of abuse disturb core body temperature, and how immune cells modulate this effect. In 2011, she became Assistant Professor of Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences at The Scripps Research Institute, where she is currently Adjunct in the Department of Neuroscience. In 2017, she became Associate Professor at the San Diego Biomedical Research Institute (SDBRI) and Ballad Institute (San Diego). She is a member of the American Association of Immunology (AAI), Society for Neurosciences (SFN), and an active member of the Society of Neuroimmune Pharmacology (SNIP). Dr. Marcondes is a pioneer in methods of microglia and immune cell isolation from the brain, and an expert in experimental neuro-immune pathology models of neuroHIV. Dr. Marcondes has published in world-class peer-reviewed journals, and her work is internationally recognized. She serves as a reviewer in several journals and in numerous NIH study sections.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).