Dr. Andrei Gafita, a postdoctoral scholar in the Ahmanson Translational Theranostics Division at UCLA and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been named a recipient of a 2021 Young Investigator Award by the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Gafita was awarded the Larry Ruvo-PCF Young Investigator Award and $225,000 to support his research to develop standardized imaging criteria to guide optimal selection of patients most likely to benefit from a novel, targeted molecular radiotherapy.
The award will bolster Gafita’s research into developing a prognostic tool to help physicians better identify which patients with advanced prostate cancer will respond favorably to the therapy. The tool, commonly called a “nomogram,” analyzes a wide range of imaging and clinical data to assist physicians in predicting the best candidates. Earlier this year, Gafita’s research was published in the journal The Lancet Oncology.
The foundation created these awards to support young investigators – generally age 35 or younger – in postdoctoral fellowships or junior faculty positions whose careers are dedicated to the field of prostate cancer.
