University of Florida College of Medicine—Jacksonville resident Rohan Samson, M.D., brought home a research award for his look at the effects proton beam cancer treatment has on patients with cardiac devices.

Samson, a third-year internal medicine resident, won a second place Young Investigator Award sponsored by the Florida Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

Samson and two cardiology fellows were chosen as finalists to present and compete at the state chapter meeting in Orlando. The competition drew entries from medical schools across Florida.

On the Jacksonville campus, doctors have been studying the impact of proton beam therapy on the appropriate functioning of cardiac devices such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and pacemakers for about four years. Other physicians involved in the project include Steve S. Hsu, M.D., associate professor in the department of medicine and chief of the division of electrophysiology, and cardiology fellow Junaid Ahmed, M.D.