Radiogenomics Consortium (RGC)

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• Overview
• Objectives
• Organizational Structure
• Membership
• Collaborations
• Funding Sources
• Consortium Publications
• Meetings
• Contact

Overview

The Radiogenomics Consortium was established in November 2009. The scientific hypothesis underlying the development of the consortium is that a cancer patient's likelihood of developing toxicity to radiation therapy is influenced by common genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

The Consortium members undertake collaborative projects to identify SNPs associated with adverse effects following radiotherapy, share data and samples, perform meta-analyses, and work together to submit research grant applications.

Objectives

The objectives of the Radiogenomics Consortium are to expand knowledge of the genetic basis for differences in radiosensitivity and to develop assays to help predict the susceptibility of cancer patients for the development of adverse effects resulting from radiotherapy, through:

• Fostering international collaborative research projects in radiogenomics through sharing of biospecimens and data;
• Developing guidelines to improve the standardization of radiogenomics research;
• Providing a framework for the efficient conduct and publication of original data meta-analyses of relevant studies;
• Providing a forum and framework for discussion, development and pursuit of new research directions; and
• Supporting the development of early career researchers.

Organizational Structure

A Coordinating Committee was established to run the Consortium. The lead coordinators for the Radiogenomics Consortium are Sarah Kerns, PhD, MPH, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, USA and Christopher Talbot, PhD, of the University of Leicester, UK.

Other members of the Committee are:

• Nicolaj Andreassen, MD, PhD, of Aarhus University, Denmark
• Behrooz Z. Alizadeh, MD, PhD, of the University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands
• Gillian Barnett, MD, of the University of Cambridge, UK and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
• Soeren Bentzen, PhD, DSc, of the University of Maryland, USA
• Alison Dunning, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, UK
• Lindsay Morton, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA
• Jung Hun Oh, PhD of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA
• Tiziana Rancati, DSc, of Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Italy
• Petra Seibold, PhD of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany Chris Talbot, PhD, of the University of Leicester, UK
• Ana Vega, PhD, of the Fundación Publica Galega de Medicina Xenómica (FPGMX) & Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Santiago de Compostela (IDIS)

The Committee also includes a representative from the NCI, Nonniekaye Shelburne, CRNP, MS, AOCN

Administrative support is provided by the Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Radiation Oncology by Sarah Kerns and Sara Herr.

Membership

Membership of the Radiogenomics Consortium currently consists of >240 members in 33 countries across 135 institutions.

The Radiogenomics Consortium is open to all investigators interested in studying the relationship between genetic variation and radiation therapy toxicity.

For membership questions, contact radiogenomics_consortium@mcw.edu.

Collaborations

The RGC aims to foster collaborative research through sharing of biospecimens and data. Please complete our collaboration form if interested in embarking on such a project. The REQUITE study is a collaboration with the RGC and is also interested in facilitating radiogenomics research by sharing biospecimens and data.

Members can access the RGC SharePoint controlled-access site for meeting minutes and other consortium information.

Funding Sources

Support for logistical needs of the Consortium has been provided by NCI's Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) and the Radiation Research Program (RRP) in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD). Many members of the RGC are principal or co-investigators for grants that support research in radiogenomics and receive funding from the National Cancer Institute, European Commission, Cancer Research UK, National Institute for Health Research, Canadian Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Defense, Deustsche Krebshilfe e.V, Health Research Fund, National Science Centre, and Spanish Ministry of Health.

Publications

Meetings

The 2023 RGC Annual Meeting was hosted by the University of Manchester, UK, on March 14-15, 2023.

Contacts

Lead Investigator(s)

• Sarah Kerns, PhD, MPH
  Medical College of Wisconsin
• Christopher Talbot, PhD
  University of Leicester

The RGC acknowledges Barry Rosenstein, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Catharine West, PhD, University of Manchester for their past leadership and vision in establishing the RGC.

NCI Contact

• Nonniekaye Shelburne, CRNP, MS, AOCN
  Consortium Liaison