Mark V. 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, has been named a 2021 recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award (CCITLA).

Mark V. Mishra, MD.

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. 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,” Mishra said. “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 worldwide, our department has been recognized for being a top-enrolling institution to NCI-sponsored trials, thus impacting the lives of thousands of cancer patients worldwide, 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.

Mishra has also been the principal investigator 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.