UM School of Medicine Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Mark Mishra, Receives Prestigious Team Leadership Award from National Cancer Institute to Promote Collaborative Clinical Research

NCI Awardee’s Research Activities Will Involve Adult Cancer Clinical Trials and Testing Innovative Cancer Therapies

Mark Mishra, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), has been named a 2021 recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award (CCITLA). Dr. Mishra’s clinical trial work at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) led the center’s director, Kevin Cullen, MD, to nominate him for the award. Dr. Mishra, who focuses on treating patients with tumors of the central nervous system and genitourinary tract, also oversees all radiation oncology clinical trial activities at UMGCC and at affiliated practices across the state of Maryland. He also serves as vice-chair of the UMGCCC Clinical Research Committee. 

“I am honored to receive this award from NCI and to represent UMGCCC,” said Dr. Mishra. “I look forward to working with outstanding clinical investigators across our campus to help grow our oncology clinical trials program and the UM Cancer Network, as well as further develop our brain tumor clinical trial portfolio.”   

The prestigious research award, established in 2009, was created to recognize and support outstanding clinical investigators at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers who dedicate their work to improving the lives of cancer patients through clinical trials. Through their leadership and activities, these investigators promote a successful culture of NCI-funded collaborative clinical research.

“Dr. Mishra truly has epitomized the essence of this award. Under his leadership, among hundreds of cancer centers world-wide, our department has been recognized for being a top-enrolling institution to NCI-sponsored trials, thus impacting the lives of thousands of cancer patients world-wide, a truly remarkable achievement we can all be proud of,” said William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, The Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair and Professor of Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Mishra has also been the PI of a number of investigator-initiated clinical trials at UMGCCC, including two recently activated trials focused on combining radiation therapy with laser-interstitial thermal therapy for patients with a newly diagnosed or recurrent glioma. He has also worked with leadership within the NCI National Clinical Trials Network through an affiliation with UMGCCC to help bring access to NCI-funded clinical trials to patients in India and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Mishra is among 10 talented investigators who were formally recognized as CCITLA recipients at the NCI Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee Meeting this past summer. Each awardee is a full-time faculty member and a board-certified physician who has practiced medicine between three- and eight-years post-fellowship and who has contributed significantly to promoting NCI-funded trials at his or her cancer center.

“The NCI is pleased to recognize these ten talented investigators who dedicate themselves to the conduct of NCI cancer clinical trials,” said Sheila Prindiville, MD, MPH, director of NCI’s Coordinating Center for Clinical Trials. “These awardees, five men and five women, have outstanding leadership skills and will be conducting clinical trials in a range of adult cancer types, testing new cancer therapies, developing critical biomarkers, and moving the field of personalized medicine forward. Additionally, these awardees will be educating and mentoring the next generation of clinical trialists, working to enhance participation of underserved populations in clinical trials and improve community engagement and access.”

As an award recipient, Dr. Mishra will earn partial salary support for two years with the purpose of engaging in activities and efforts related to the award.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research.  With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has nearly $600 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding.  As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of over $6 billion and an economic impact of nearly $20 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies.  In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2021, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #9 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S., and in the top 15 percent (#27) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools.  The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu