Stanford Radiation Oncology

03/10/2026

Stanford Radiation Oncology will be well-represented at the 64th Annual Conference of the Particle Therapy Cooperative Group (PTCOG), June 8–13, 2026, in Deauville, France. Our department submitted a strong slate of 9 abstracts, including contributions from Vivek Maradia, Xianjin Dai, and many others. Congratulations to the Stanford team for this achievement!

03/09/2026

Stanford Radiation Oncology is closing the gap in patient care with a new, patient-centered initiative led by Dr. Joseph Abi Jaoude and Dr. Erqi Pollom. Recognizing that pelvic physical therapy is often high-demand and low-access, the team has launched a comprehensive at-home educational module for patients undergoing radiation.

When patients undergo pelvic radiation, the focus often centers on eliminating cancer. Yet the treatment can also bring lasting side effects that affect the muscles and organs of the pelvic region, impacting bowel and bladder control, sexual function, and overall quality of life.

03/06/2026

For years, the sheer scale and cost of proton therapy facilities—often requiring the footprint of a football field—presented a massive roadblock for cancer centers. Dr. Bill Loo and the team at Stanford Medicine are proving that innovation doesn't always have to be bigger; it can be smarter.

By integrating a compact accelerator from Mevion Medical Systems with an upright positioning system from Leo Cancer Care, Dr. Loo has overseen a transformation that reduces the required space for this technology by over 90%. Instead of building a massive new facility across town, Stanford was able to fit the system into an existing X-ray vault, fully integrating proton therapy into their main cancer center.

As patient treatments begin this month, this milestone marks a major step toward making advanced radiation oncology more practical and accessible.

Read more about Dr. Loo’s work and the future of compact proton therapy here:

As centers expand worldwide, innovators are tackling cost, space, staffing, and patient access

02/27/2026

Today is Thank a Resident and Fellow Day!

We’re celebrating our incredible Therapy and Physics residents and fellows for their dedication, resilience, and clinical excellence. From research to patient care, your contributions are shaping the future of Radiation Oncology.

Join us in saying a huge thank you to this amazing team!

02/17/2026

Please join us in celebrating Ruijiang Li, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, for being named the Himalaya Foundation Faculty Scholar! This faculty scholar fund was established with a gift from the Himalaya Foundation to support an early-career faculty member in the Department of Radiation Oncology engaged in research involving artificial intelligence and cancer, or any other promising emerging technology in the department. Congratulations, Dr. Li!

02/06/2026

How do we move from a thought to an action? Dr. Lei Xing and his researchers at Stanford are using AI to find out. 🧠✨

By treating brain activity as a "movie" rather than a series of snapshots, their new model (BCNE) helps scientists see how emotions, decisions, and perceptions travel through the brain in real-time.

Dr. Xing’s lab is bridging the gap between complex data and clinical care, with the goal of helping patients recovering from brain tumors and those living with neurological disorders.

Take a look at how they’re mapping the human mind:

Stanford researchers have developed a deep learning model that transforms overwhelming brain data into clear trajectories, opening new possibilities for understanding thought, emotion, and neurological disease.

01/28/2026

A major hurdle in bladder cancer (NMIBC) treatment has been the "field effect"-mutations in normal tissue that mimic cancer in urine tests.
New research from Maximilian Diehn and team introduces a "field-effect-informed" liquid biopsy that filters these out, accurately identifying who will respond to BCG vs. surgery.
This is a huge step toward personalized MRD monitoring.
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Read the full study, published in Science Direct, here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009286742501503X?dgcid=coauthor

01/12/2026

Please join us in celebrating and congratulating Dr. Richard Hoppe, MD, on officially beginning his next chapter: retirement!
Dr. Hoppe joined Stanford as a resident in 1972 and later served as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology for 19 years, from 1992 to 2011.

Throughout his career at Stanford, Dr. Hoppe has been responsible for numerous breakthroughs and advancements in the treatment of cancer and the application of innovative techniques for radiation delivery. He is an ASTRO Gold Medal Recipient and is recognized nationally and internationally for his seminal contributions in the areas of Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and cutaneous lymphoma.

As co-founder of the Stanford Interdisciplinary Cutaneous Lymphoma Clinic, Hoppe also helped to develop many of the current treatment regimens used in the cutaneous lymphomas, including mycoses fungoides. Hoppe and his colleagues optimized the “Stanford Total Skin Irradiation Technique” uniquely suited to treat this lymphoma.

In 2022, Dr. Hoppe received the Albion Walter Hewlett Award, a prestigious honor recognizing an exceptional physician with ties to Stanford.

Thank you, Dr. Hoppe, for your leadership, your wisdom, and your friendship. Wishing you a retirement filled with as much joy and discovery as you brought to our department every day!

12/12/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Sandra Zaky, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, for receiving a grant by the High Impact Technology Fund at Stanford University to continue developing her fellowship project: Vita Linac! Vita Linac’s concept is a device that monitors the linear accelerator’ "vital signs.”
By spotting early signs of concern, it will allow clinical staff to make adjustments and prevent costly, lengthy downtimes, ensuring patients receive consistent, uninterrupted care.
Please see the news article here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7404230579564814336
Congratulations, Dr. Zaky!

12/03/2025

We are incredibly excited to announce that Jason Sheltzer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, has received the Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award in Aging Biology and Geroscience Research from the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) and the Hevolution Foundation!
His project, “Investigating loss of the Y chromosome as a targetable driver of aging-related pathologies,” was selected among 18 projects by investigators studying age-related disease and healthspan.
This grant program enables junior investigators with labs in the US and Canada, and with at least three years of independent research, to advance research projects in basic biology of aging, as well as geroscience projects that translate advances in basic research on aging biology from the laboratory to the clinic, paving the way for healthspan-expanding therapeutics and treatments.
Congratulations, Dr. Sheltzer!

11/25/2025

Please join us in congratulating Nick Trakul, MD, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology, for receiving an honorable mention for the Kelley M. Skeff Professionalism Award! This award, named in honor of Kelley Skeff MD, PhD, the George DeForest Barnett Professor of Medicine, recognizes high levels of excellence and compassion in professional behavior through collaborative work with colleagues, faculty and staff from across the institution. Congratulations!

11/24/2025

Please join us in congratulating Quynh Le, MD, FACR, FASTRO, our department chair, for receiving the Stanford Health Care 2026 Physician of the Year Award!
This recognition serves as a well-deserved testament to Dr. Le’s exceptional dedication to embodying the core values of professionalism, excellence, and innovation in her practice. Quynh will be honored with other award recipients at the Annual Medical Staff Appreciation and Awards Gala. Congratulations, Quynh, from all of us at Stanford Radiation Oncology!