Distinguished Author Award Winners Named

The ASRT has announced the recipients of its distinguished author awards, recognizing the best peer-reviewed articles published in ASRT's scientific journals in 2025. Presented annually, the awards are chosen by members of each journal's respective Editorial Review Board after a comprehensive review of all scholarly articles published in the journals during the previous calendar year.

The Radiologic Technology Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Jean I. Widger goes to Kevin R. Clark, Ed.D., R.T.(R)(QM), FASRT, FAEIRS. His article, "Comparative Analysis of LLMs' Performance on a Practice Radiography Certification Exam," was published in the May/June 2025 issue of Radiologic Technology.

Dr. Clark is an associate professor and the associate director for the School of Health Professions at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He also is founder and chief executive officer of CW Elite, LLC, a professional editing and consulting company. He currently serves as president for the Association of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences and the Texas Society of Radiologic Technologists.

The goal of this study was to compare the performance of multiple large language models on a practice radiography certification exam. Findings from this study provide valuable insights into the performance of multiple LLMs in answering practice radiography certification exam questions. The study concluded that among the five LLMs compared in this study, ChatGPT (OpenAI) was the most accurate model. As interest in generative artificial intelligence continues to increase and new language applications become readily available, users should understand the limitations of LLMs and check responses for accuracy.

This year the Radiation Therapist Distinguished Author Award in Honor of Harold Silverman goes to Danielle McDonagh, D.H.Sc., R.T.(T); Clodagh Starrs, M.Sc., PgC; Samantha Skubish, M.S., R.T.(R)(T); Kavita Dharmarajan, M.D.; Hulya Kocyigit, Ph.D.; Márcio A. Diniz, Ph.D.; and Maria Dimopoulos, Ph.D., R.T.(T), for their article, "Effect of APRT Intervention on Inpatient Radiation Therapy Throughput," which was published in the spring 2025 issue of Radiation Therapist.

McDonagh is the program director for radiation therapy education at the Mount Sinai Center for Radiation Sciences Education at Stony Brook University in New York. Starrs is a therapeutic radiographer and advanced practice radiation therapist for radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Skubish is the chief technical director of radiation oncology at Mount Sinai Health System in New York. Dr. Dharmarajan is the associate professor of radiation oncology, geriatrics and palliative medicine, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Dr. Kocyigit is a biostatistician for the Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Institute for Health Care Delivery Science, Tisch Cancer Institute Biostatistics Shared Resource Facility at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Diniz works for the Department of Population Health Science and Policy; is an associate professor for the Institute for Health Care Delivery Science; and is codirector for the Tisch Cancer Institute Biostatistics Shared Resource Facility at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Dimopoulos is an assistant professor for Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of an advanced practice radiation therapist intervention on throughput challenges in a large academic radiation oncology department by analyzing and comparing inpatient throughput metrics before and after implementation. The study found that APRT intervention enhanced patient care processes and outcomes by reducing delays and improving treatment efficiency. Thus, incorporating APRT roles can address critical care delivery challenges in modern radiation oncology practice, especially for complex patient populations.

The Widger award is named after longtime Radiologic Technology editor Jean I. Widger. The Silverman award is named in honor of radiation therapist Harold Silverman, an advocate for accreditation of radiation therapy education programs.

The ASRT will honor the recipients at the Honors Evening on June 26 at the 2026 ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting.