Scan Times
Weblog of the Department of Radiology
November 2007
Donna Cronister Wins the 2007 Marshall D. O'Neill Award!
(Image courtesy of Sharon Pollio)
Our own Donna Cronister was named this year's winner of the Marshall D. O'Neill Award for her exceptional and enduring support of Stanford University's research enterprise. Now in its 17th year, this prestigious and university-wide award is bestowed annually by the Office of the Vice Provost and Dean of Research in honor of Marshall D. O'Neill, associate director of the W.W. Hansen Laboratories from 1952 until 1990. Donna is the 27th recipient of this award.
"I was quite surprised when I took the call from Ann Arvin, vice provost and dean of research. I probably sounded like a complete idiot because I honestly did not know what to say," Donna remarked. "I am very honored just to be nominated, and I am very proud to be the 2007 recipient of the Marshall D. O'Neill Award."
While most 2007 award candidates were nominated by one or two faculty members, Donna was nominated by eight. Gary Glover, PhD, director of the Radiological Sciences Laboratory (RSL), described Donna's award as an "outstanding, University-wide endorsement of what we have all known for a very long time--that Donna is simply above exceptional in every way!"
Working with 12 faculty and over 80 graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, research assistants, and research associates, Donna manages each facet of the lab's research, which includes coordinating funding for researchers, organizing courses and conferences, and planning the budget. She is also involved in the day-to-day operations at the Lucas Center and oversees the payroll; reimbursement; accounting; personnel policies and procedures; building maintenance; supply ordering; and service policies.
These are just a few of the many tasks for which Donna has been responsible since she came to Stanford in 1990 after working in the corporate world:
"My husband and I moved to California from Montana in 1980 after the birth of our twin daughters. I was a stay at home mom until the girls were about two and a half years old. When my husband came home and found me lying on the back of the couch so they couldn't get to me, we decided it was time for me to go back to work! I worked for three years for a chemical company and then moved on to Xerox where I worked for about eight years. During this time, we added another daughter to the family. Xerox had a massive reduction in force, and I took about six months off before applying at Stanford.
The rest, as they say, is history. I have been with the Radiological Sciences Laboratory since February 1990. We have seen our lab grow from Gary, Norbert, and me to about 90 folks now! I oversee the lab, and I am also the administrative director for the Lucas Service Center." When she's not at work, Donna loves to garden and to spoil her grandson and granddaughter. "Life couldn't be better for me," she added.
Dr. Gary Glover extended an invitation to attend Donna's November 12th reception to "every one of the hundreds of students, faculty, and everyone else who knows or has been touched in ways large or small by Donna over the years." At her reception at the Faculty Club, Associate Dean of Research John Brauman presented the Marshall D. O'Neill Award to Donna on behalf of the vice provost and dean of research, Ann Arvin. To see pictures from Donna's reception taken by Sharon Pollio, please access http:// http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaNG7ZqzbN2Low. To read more about her award, please see http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2007/november7/marsh-110707.html and http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/11/13/radiologyLabManagerWinsCampusAward.
Stanford Radiology Welcomes Chief Quality and Safety Officer David Hovsepian, MD
Dr. Hovsepian joined our interventional radiology faculty in July of 2007 as an acting professor of radiology and the chief quality and safety officer for our Department. He brings a considerable amount of experience and new ideas in leading our efforts to offer the highest quality of service to our patients and referring physicians.
In 1982, he graduated cum laude from Columbia University in New York, where he received his BA in computer science. He attended medical school at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency at Presbyterian Hospital. Following a two-year fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he joined the faculty at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology where he remained for 14 years, rising to the rank of professor of radiology and surgery. During his career, he has participated in the training of over 200 residents and 70 fellows, and he served on his hospital's performance review committee.
Dr. Hovsepian's research interests over the years have included the development of stent-graft technology for the treatment of aortic aneurysms; gynecological interventional radiology, with a current focus on uterine fibroid embolization; the treatment of vascular malformations in children and adults; and the emerging practices of evidence-based and patient-centered radiology. He has received numerous awards, including being named among "Best Doctors in St. Louis," "Best Doctors in America," and "America's Top Doctors."
Dr. Hovsepian has also served on the editorial boards of Radiology and the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and he is the deputy editor of RSNA News. In addition, he is the past co-chairman of the ACR-RNSA Public Information Website Committee, and he continues to serve on a number of committees for the Society of Interventional Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America. In particular, Dr. Hovsepian's dedication to quality and safety in radiology has grown through his membership on the RSNA Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative Committee, which is charged with developing educational programs and internet-based resources to help radiologists nationwide develop quality and safety programs at their institutions. He will be leading two roundtable discussions on quality at the upcoming annual meeting of the RSNA on Wednesday, November 28th.
As part of his efforts to ensure the highest standards of quality and safety programs in our Department, Dr. Hovsepian has formed the Quality Leadership Committee, which is guiding three pilot projects: improving report turnaround time; ensuring the timely reporting of critical results; and evaluating the impact that the discordance between preliminary and final reports may have on patient care. The committee's next steps include failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), which involves a lengthy series of process review sessions that analyze every step of the workflow to create standard operating procedures (SOP) and to provide education and training. Dr. Hovsepian will be reporting regularly on our quality and safety progress at our faculty meetings.
(Image of Dr. Hovsepian provided by Mark Riesenberger)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Henry H. Jones
(Image courtesy of Mark Riesenberger)
"My greatest achievement is that I survived," Dr. Jones said to me after I spoke with him about our "Lifetime Achievement Award." In his 68 years of serving Stanford Radiology, Dr. Henry H. Jones, professor emeritus, has done much more than survive. He has left a long legacy of achievements and a lasting impression on those who have had the opportunity to interact with him.
Born on June 9, 1917, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, he was the second son of Henry O. and Euphemia Heilman Jones. His older brother, Howard, died in infancy. His father was a urologist, and his mother was the superintendent of music for the Altoona school system and, later, was a writer of style reviews and producer of fashion shows for the William F. Gable Department Store. "She was so successful," Dr. Jones told me, "that department stores as far away as Pittsburgh wanted to hire her to produce their style reviews."
After graduating from Haverford College in 1939 with a BA in chemistry, Dr. Jones attended the graduate chemistry program at Harvard. "I spent a year pretending to be a chemist at Harvard and learned that I wasn't really going to be the kind of chemist I wanted to be because I didn't fully comprehend the application of partial differential equations." In 1940, he applied and was accepted to medical school at Yale. In medical school, he was reminded that medicine requires a life time of learning, which is something he had observed throughout his childhood because both his father and grandfather were physicians. "In your first- and second-years of medical school, you realize that what you are learning today you will use for the rest of your life," Dr. Jones remarked. Because of his interest in chemistry and mathematics, Dr. Jones felt a natural affinity for radiology.
At the end of 1941, he was inducted into the army to serve in World War II, but he was assigned back to finish his medical studies. After completing a rotating internship in 1943 at Metropolitan Hospital in New York City and a residency in radiology at Yale in 1946, he served in the army as an instructor at the Army School of Roentgenology at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where he trained physicians to be radiologists or "90-day wonders," as they were commonly called. "That was a great experience," he told me. "I had just finished my residency in radiology and now I was teaching what I had learned. If you want to learn something, teach it!" After three cycles of training, he was assigned as head of radiology in Bad Constadt, Germany, which was the orthopedic center for the army of occupation.
After his discharge from the army in 1948, he went to speak with the chair of the Radiology Department at Yale, Henry Kaplan, MD, who had taught him during residency and who had recently been hired to head the Stanford Radiology Department. Dr. Jones' reputation preceded him, and it was the impression he had left on Dr. Henry Kaplan that led to his hire at Stanford. "After I was discharged from the army, I was looking for a position as an academic radiologist so I went to talk to Henry Kaplan. I asked him, 'Do you know of any available academic jobs in radiology?' He answered, 'Why? You already have one at Stanford.' It's the only job application I've ever done in my life! It was very inexpensive; I didn't fill out any forms or anything." So, Dr. Jones came to Stanford at the end of June 1948. Because Dr. Kaplan did not leave Yale for Stanford until September, Dr. Jones ran the Department until his arrival. As the only senior, full-time faculty member, he worked 7 days a week for 14 to 16 hours a day, and he taught all the radiology courses until Kaplan arrived in September of 1948.
After 68 years in our Department, he has left an enduring legacy and the results of his life time of learning are reflected in the plaques that line the walls of his office, such as the Robert Reid Newell Memorial Award and the Broad Street Pump Award. Conferred by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), the Broad Street Pump Award is bestowed upon physicians who apply their medical knowledge in socially responsible ways. Dr. Jones was a founding member of PSR and a leader in the movement to eliminate nuclear war and weapons of mass destruction. "I was very surprised and extremely pleased. I'm delighted to have this award," he commented. Dr. Jones was also the first chief of the radiology service at the Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital, and he earned the moniker "Bones Jones" in recognition of his subspecialty regarding the skeletal system. His research focused on the mechanisms governing the growth and modeling of the skeletal system.
Dr. Jones has accumulated a great number of roentgenograms throughout his career, and he has donated them to our departmental resident and medical student teaching library: "I used to teach the bone and joint part of the radiology clerkship, and I have bequeathed the set of films I accumulated through my teaching to the library for use by the medical students and residents. I think it's useful, and it's organized so that people can teach themselves. People do very well teaching themselves by the time they get to medical school. If you can't teach yourself by then you're in deep trouble." The Stanford University Medical Media and Information Technologies (SUMMIT) is compiling his extensive collection of radiographs. For more information on this project, please see http://summit.stanford.edu/pdfs/mediaserver_ts.pdf and http://summit.stanford.edu/pdfs/meadiaserver_tearsheet.pdf. His collection is also featured in Dr. Amy Ladd's Paget's Disease E-Book, which can be viewed at http://paget.stanford.edu/, and he has given several detailed and informative online lectures on bone disease, including one on osteomyelitis (http://osteomyelitis.stanford.edu/pages/hjones.html) and one on osteosarcoma (http://osteosarcoma.stanford.edu/pages/EbookInfo.html).
After retiring on December 31, 2006, he worked part-time until January of 2007. I asked him how he spends his time, and he told me, "I'm reorganizing my film collection, and I'm cleaning my desk, which could take a while. I make a little progress on it, and I come back to find it's grown back again; I don't understand how it piles up, but it does." He also enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, Emmerson (age 11) and Elliott (age 6).
To read more about what our Department was like when Dr. Jones began at Stanford, please see his first-author publication, "A History of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University" published in the American Journal of Roentgenology 1995 Mar;164(3):753-60 (http://www.ajronline.org/cgi/reprint/164/3/753).
"HAPPY DAY!"
Radiology Interest Group at Stanford (RIGS) Initiates Website
The Radiology Interest Group at Stanford (RIGS), along with the Radiology Department and Residency Program, is proud to announce the launch of the RIGS website: http://rigs.stanford.edu.
According to the RIGS website, the Radiology Interest Group at Stanford "is a group of Stanford medical students organized to foster interest in the field of radiology and provide advice to those who wish to pursue radiology as a career. RIGS holds events to provide medical students a better idea of what radiology is and what the various imaging specialties are, to guide those applying to residencies in this field, and to encourage women and minorities to consider a career in radiology; these events also allow medical students the opportunity to meet radiology physicians and residents. In addition, RIGS is a resource for those interested in research opportunities in the field of radiology."
For more information, please contact one of the group's officers: Rebecca Rakow-Penner (rakow@stanford.edu), Bhargav Raman (ramanb@stanford.edu), or Cece Chen (qcece@stanford.edu).
Celebrating Five Years of Service: Teresa Newton
Teresa Newton, administrative associate, celebrated five years of service at Stanford University on October 28th, her anniversary date. "I remember my start date because it comes just before one of my favorite holidays," she added. Teresa began at Stanford in 2002 after having worked in a plethora of jobs, which included technical writer, high school English teacher, and middle school computer skills teacher. Her first position at Stanford was in the Division of Neonatology, in the Department of Pediatrics, supporting numerous doctors in their clinical, academic, and special interest endeavors. She joined Radiology on the recommendation of friends, and she decided they weren't wrong! She now supports Drs. Daniel and Desser in their various pursuits. Teresa's hobbies include reading, craftwork, hiking, camping, and motorcycling.
Awards and Honors: November 6, 2007
Linn Dee Barrientos, CRT, clinical instructor of radiology, received the September Stanford Hospital and Clinics Radiology Wingspread Award from the former recipient, Suzanne Campanile, CRT, ARRT, R, M, BS. Because of her outstanding work in diagnostic radiology, Ms. Barrientos was awarded the Wingspread Award, which is given by one employee to another who has proven that he or she is a "special performer" by demonstrating exemplary performance in areas such as job knowledge; work ethics; communication skills; inter- and intradepartmental relationships; versatility; and judgment. The Wingspread Award gives employees the opportunity to recognize who among them has gone above and beyond the fulfillment of his or her usual duties. Wingspread awardees can keep the award for as long as they wish or until they discover another "special performer." Monthly awarding of the Wingspread honor is encouraged as part of the SHC departmental staff meetings.
Ms. Barrientos graduated from Mt. San Antonio College in 1999 with an AA in liberal arts and an AS in radiological sciences after making the Dean's list. In 2007, she graduated cum laude with a BS in Business Management from Menlo College, where she was a member of the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society of Business Administration. For over four years, Ms. Barrientos has been a full-time radiology technologist at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, where she had the privilege to serve as the day-shift lead technologist and clinical instructor for the Foothill Radiologic Student Program at Stanford. As the lead technologist, she managed the day shift for the diagnostic department, operating room, gastroenterology clinic, emergency department, Blake Wilbur Clinic, orthopedic outpatient clinic for Stanford Hospital, and the Cancer Center. Currently, she is working as a RIS analyst with the Informatics Radiology Team to implement the RIS-IC ImageCast system and to maintain and build support for the database. She has been working on this project for the last 14 months and comments that it is "by far the best opportunity Stanford has offered me. I enjoy the excitement, challenges, and learning opportunities Radiology has to offer." During her free time, she enjoys playing the piano, eating desserts, and tasting full-bodied red wines. Her best friend of seven years is her dog, Rusty.
(Image courtesy of Mark Riesenberger)
Announcements I: November 2007
Stanford Radiology Department Blood Drive: Tuesday, November 13, 2007, and Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Aurora Forum at Stanford University 2007-08 Schedule: Monday, November 12, 2007-Saturday, May 24, 2008
Stanford University Flu Shot Clinics: Wednesdays, November 14 and 28, 2007, and December 5, 2007
Cantor Arts Center Exhibits at Stanford University: November 2007-October 2008
Stanford Radiology Department Blood Drive: Tuesday, November 13, 2007, and Tuesday, December 4, 2007, at the Stanford Blood Center at 780 Welch Road. The Radiology Department is hosting a blood drive, and all Radiology departmental members are invited to participate. This includes residents, fellows, faculty, and staff. If you have any questions regarding your eligibility to donate, please contact the Stanford Blood Center at 723-7831.
To give a blood donation, please contact the Stanford Blood Center to schedule an appointment for either Tuesday, November 13th, or Tuesday, December 4th. Please make sure you let the scheduler know that you are with the Radiology Department. All interested donors should also visit the web at http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu to check eligibility, pre-donation guidelines, etc. Please spread the word and encourage your colleagues to join you. Thank you very much.
Aurora Forum at Stanford University 2007-08 Schedule: Monday, November 12, 2007-Saturday, May 24, 2008. Continuing the history of free public programs that began with the University's founding in 1891, the Aurora Forum (http://www.auroraforum.org/) is hosting a series of public conversations centering on the theme of "Democratic Ideals." The following is a schedule of the free programs offered by the Aurora Program for 2007-08:
IRAQ: REFRAME; Monday, November 12, 2007, from 7:30 - 9:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium. This is the first of a five-part series with the Montalvo Arts Center.
Esalen: Education for Life on the Edge; Thursday, December 6, 2007, from 7:30-9:00 PM at Cubberley Auditorium.
IRAQ: REFRAME; Monday, December 17, 2007, from 7:30-9:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium. This is the second of a five-part series with the Montalvo Arts Center.
What Would Martin Say? An Evening with Clarence B. Jones; Thursday, January 17, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM.
IRAQ: REFRAME; Monday, January 28, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM (location TBD). This is the third of a five-part series with the Montalvo Arts Center.
IRAQ: REFRAME; Monday, February 4, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium. This is the fourth of a five-part series with the Montalvo Arts Center.
The Beatles on the Brain; Thursday, February 21, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium.
IRAQ: REFRAME; Monday, March 17, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM at the Montalvo Arts Center. This is the fifth of a five-part series with the Montalvo Arts Center.
CONFERENCE: Global Solidarity and the End of Poverty; Saturday, April 5, 2008, from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM at the Kresge Auditorium.
On the Pursuit of Happiness; Thursday, April 24, 2008, from 7:30-9:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium.
CONFERENCE: The Future of Social Hope; Saturday, May 24, 2008, from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM at Kresge Auditorium.
Stanford University Flu Shot Clinics: Wednesdays, November 7, 14, and 28, 2007, and December 5, 2007, from 3 to 6 PM at the Vaden Health Center at 866 Campus Drive East. The flu shot is free for University employees (faculty, staff, emeritus faculty, retired staff, as well as Medical School and research faculty and staff); a valid Stanford ID must be presented at the time of vaccination. Stanford Hospital and Clinics employees are not eligible for a free vaccination. The vaccine will not be given to individuals with a severe cold or other infection or who are allergic to eggs. Pregnant women in their first trimester must get medical clearance from an obstetrician.
The shot is $22 for spouses and domestic partners of university employees, as well as for students and their spouses or domestic partners. Students enrolled in Cardinal Care pay $11. Medical students must present their medical student ID card for a free shot. For more information, please go to http://vaden.stanford.edu/medical/index.html#FluClinic.
Cantor Arts Center Exhibits at Stanford University: November 2007-October 2008. The Cantor Arts Center offers free admission Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 AM to 5 PM and Thursdays, 11 AM to 8 PM. The following is a brief overview of their exhibits:
Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands, October 3, 2007,-January 6, 2008, with free tours offered on Thursdays at 12:15 PM and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM. This exhibit features common household products transformed into art.
Dreaming of Speech without Words: The Paintings and Early Objects of H.C. Westermann, November 21, 2007-March 2, 2008.
Frederic Church, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Moran: Tourism and the American Landscape, January 30, 2008-May 4, 2008.
Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art, June 4, 2008-October 5, 2008.
Celebrating 10 Years of Service: John Ralston
John Ralston, administrative associate, is a third-generation San Franciscan who is fascinated with the history of his native city. John and his wife, Lana, operate Ralston Independent Works (RIW), a web-based business dedicated to promoting San Francisco's history. John came to Stanford as a temporary employee in 1997 after working at the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF), and he has been at the Stanford School of Medicine, with a one-year break, ever since. After his working hours, he researches historical materials at Green Library and other Stanford libraries. He also enjoys travel, foreign languages, and literature.
Awards and Honors: November 2, 2007
Bao Do, MD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Molecular Imaging of Musculoskeletal Illnesses Laboratory and a radiology resident at the University of Iowa (left), and Sandip Biswal, MD, assistant professor of radiology (right), have been awarded the RSNA Research Trainee Prize in Informatics for their scientific paper entitled, "Feedback Natural Language Processing of Fractures in Unstructured Reports of Emergency Department Studies." The Trainee Prize was created in 1994 by the RSNA Program Committee to recognize the contribution of residents to the RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. Each subcommittee of the Program Committee awards three prizes each year for the best paper or poster submitted by a resident, fellow, or medical student. This is the second time Drs. Biswal and Do have received the Trainee Prize; they received their first one in 2005 in the category of molecular imaging.
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