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 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.
