March 2009

Awards and Honors: March 31, 2009

Christoph Lee, MD, third-year radiology resident, has been awarded the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation's 2009 Leadership Award, which is designed "to encourage involvement in organized medicine and continue leadership development among the country's brightest and most energetic medical students, residents, early career physicians and established physicians." On March 9th, Dr. Lee was honored for his strong non-clinical leadership skills in medicine and the community at the AMA's annual Excellence in Medicine Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C., along with 30 other award recipients.

Dr. Lee graduated cum laude from both Princeton University, where he received his bachelor's degree, and Yale University Medical School. Through his authorship of multiple research articles and commentaries in peer-reviewed journals, he has advocated at the national level for public health and education regarding CT radiation risks. He has also served as a project manager of a global tuberculosis initiative for Ralph Nader in Washington, D.C., and as an analyst for a prominent national healthcare policy research and consulting firm. At the community level, Dr. Lee helped implement the Healthcare for the Homeless Program in St. Louis, MO, and assisted in leading a free clinic for migrant farm workers in Connecticut. After completing his residency, Dr. Lee plans to pursue a career in health services and policy research with a focus on the clinically effective and cost-effective utilization of medical imaging. When he's not working, Dr. Lee enjoys running, playing tennis, and keeping up with pop culture.

Awards and Honors: March 25, 2009

Neal Bangerter, PhD, research associate; Garry E. Gold, MD, associate professor of radiology and (by courtesy) bioengineering and orthopedics; Brian Hargreaves, PhD, assistant professor of radiology; Seungbum Koo, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Chung-Ang University in South Korea; Ernesto Staroswiecki, PhD; and Ronald Watkins, senior research engineer, received the Cum Laude Award at the 2009 Meeting of the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT/MR) for their exceptional research project, "Early Detection of Osteoarthritis in Patients with ACL Injury Using Sodium MRI." Please access photos and brief biographies of some of our award winners by clicking on the link below.

Garry E. Gold, MD, associate professor of radiology and (by courtesy) bioengineering and orthopedics, received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1988 and his MD from Stanford in 1992. Dr. Gold has authored over 60 journal articles, 170 abstracts, and 5 patents in MRI. He has been the principal investigator or a co-investigator on over 30 funded research projects, and he is the principal investigator on two NIH-funded projects to improve MR imaging of osteoarthritis and the use of real-time MRI for the study of biomechanics. The International Skeletal Society recently awarded Dr. Gold the President's Medal, and this is the sixth time he was been awarded the Lauterbur Award for the best MRI paper from the Society for Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT/MR). Dr. Gold reviews manuscripts for ten peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (JMRI) and the Journal of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (MRM), and he is on the editorial board of several publications. At Stanford, Dr. Gold practices clinical musculoskeletal radiology, teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. He teaches two courses in imaging physics and human anatomy for medical students and graduate students, and he was recently awarded the Kaiser Award for outstanding and innovative contributions to education. He also serves as an advisor and co-advisor for many engineering graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. To view his prior blog postings, please access http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/02/drs_gold_and_ha_2.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/01/drs_gold_and_ha.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/06/people_and_thei_6.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/04/awards_and_hono_37.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/04/awards_and_hono_31.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/10/awards_and_hono_19.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/04/awards_and_hono_1.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/02/awards_and_hono_18.html; and http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/02/new_faculty_hir_1.html.

Brian Hargreaves, PhD, assistant professor of radiology, completed his doctoral degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University. In 2005, he joined the Stanford Radiology Department faculty. Dr. Hargreaves' research focuses on body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications (including abdominal, vascular, breast, and musculoskeletal imaging) and the development of novel excitation schemes, efficient imaging methods, and reconstruction tools that provide improved diagnostic contrast compared with current methods. Aside from work, he plays ice hockey and soccer, and he is on the volunteer ski patrol at Sugar Bowl ski resort. To view Dr. Hargreaves' pior blog postings, please access http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/02/drs_gold_and_ha_2.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/01/drs_gold_and_ha.html; and http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/04/awards_and_hono_31.html.

Seungbum Koo, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Chung-Ang University in South Korea, received his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford University in 2006 and worked as a research associate in radiology until February 2009. His research interests include medical image processing and joint biomechanics, with a focus on knee joint biomechanics and articular cartilage degeneration to understand the mechanical pathways of osteoarthritis in the knee. Dr. Koo recently took a faculty position in South Korea.

Ronald Watkins, senior research engineer, has been working in medical imaging since joining GE Medical Systems in 1980, where he was part of an engineering team that developed the first commercial version of digital subtraction X-ray angiography. During his career, he has been involved in the development of data acquisition systems for CT as well as several subsystems for the first commercial, high-field 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance system, including pulse sequence generators, gradient amplifiers, RF amplifiers, and digital image processors. Mr. Watkins began working in the development of transducers and analog front ends for cardiac ultrasound in 1985. Four years later, he developed catheters and electronics for high-resolution, high-frequency intravascular ultrasound at Cardiovascular Imaging Systems in Sunnyvale, a high tech medical device startup company founded by Cardiologist Paul Yock, MD.

In 1991, Mr. Watkins returned to GE's Corporate Research and Development Division in Schenectady, New York, where he worked with co-inventors Harvey Cline, PhD, and Kullervo Hynynen, PhD, at the University of Arizona to develop the first MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery system. In 2000, this technology was transferred to form the basis for the Haifa Israel start-up InsighTec. Mr. Watkins also led the development of the first commercial whole body 3.0 Tesla MRI system, which initiated a rapid increase in the deployment of 3.0 Tesla systems from a few fMRI research sites to the thousands of mainstream clinical radiology sites present today. Furthermore, he developed much of the hardware for massively parallel receive arrays, parallel transmit, and RF subsystems for 7.0 Tesla MRI systems.

In 2007, Mr. Watkins joined the Stanford Department of Radiology, where he has been developing coils and hardware for high-field MRI and has continued the development of MR-guided focused ultrasound, including the use of capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers, pioneered by the Khuri-Yakub group in the Stanford E. L. Ginzton Lab. In recognition of his research on the development of MR-guided focused ultrasound, Mr. Watkins was awarded a Magna Cum Laude citation by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in 1994. In addition, he has 38 issued U.S. patents and more than 40 conference proceedings and journal publications.

Did You Know?

A Sketch of Early Radiologists*
The head of the Department of Roentgenology at Children's Hospital in Boston, Dr. Percy Brown, conducted a survey of all members of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) in 1910.

Of the 50% who responded, the majority received their medical degrees during the years 1896 to 1903. Many of those who received their medical degrees between 1900 to 1903 had worked with X-rays as photographers, engineers, physicists, and eletricians prior to medical school.

20% of the ARRS members surveyed limited their practice to radiology while the remaining 80% "were equally divided between general practice and some other specialty."

30% of survey participants indicated that they practiced both X-ray diagnosis and therapy while "[a]bout half worked only in diagnosis, and a significant minority (19%) specialized solely in therapy."

(The above statistics are from Radiology: An Illustrated History by Eisenberg, Ronald L.; St. Louis, MO: Mosby-Year Book, 1992: 61).

Awards and Honors: March 23, 2009

Marcus Alley, PhD, senior research scientist; Garry E. Gold, MD, associate professor of radiology and (by courtesy) bioengineering and orthopedics at Stanford University; Robert J. Herfkens, MD, professor of radiology, director of MRI, and associate chair for clinical technology; Michael Lustig, PhD, engineering research associate; John Pauly, PhD, professor of electrical engineering; and Dr. Shreyas Vasanawala, assistant professor of radiology, were awarded the 2009 Lauterbur Award by the Society of Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT/MR) for their outstanding research project "Faster Pediatric MRI with Compressed Sensing." The Lauterbur Award in MR was named in honor of Paul Lauterbur, PhD, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2003 for his work in MRI. Please find photos and brief biographies of some of our award winners by clicking on the link below.

Marcus Alley, PhD, senior research scientist, received his BA in physics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and his MS (physics) and PhD (nuclear physics) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he completed his thesis entitled "An Effective Range Determination of Phase Shifts for the Elastic Proton Helium-3 Reaction between the Energies of 0 and 12 MeV." Dr. Alley has been a member of the Stanford Department of Radiology since 1994, when he began as a postdoctoral fellow mentored by Norbert Pelc, ScD. After completing his postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Alley worked as an MR applications and software developer, and, in May of 2005, he became a senior research scientist in our Department. His current research involves developing MRI with compressed sensing for body and pediatric imaging. His past awards include a third place Scientific Paper Award for his paper entitled "Measurement of T1 of Flowing Blood, Extraction Fraction of Gd-DTPA and Single-Kidney GFR Using Interleaved Spiral Acquisition" from the Society of Uroradiology, Twenty-Fifth Scientific Assembly, in 2000. Dr. Alley also has over 35 publications and 7 patents.

Garry E. Gold, MD, associate professor of radiology and (by courtesy) bioengineering and orthopedics at Stanford University, received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford in 1988 and his MD from Stanford in 1992. Dr. Gold has authored over 60 journal articles, 170 abstracts, and 5 patents in MRI. He has been the principal investigator or a co-investigator on over 30 funded research projects, and he is the principal investigator on two NIH-funded projects to improve MR imaging of osteoarthritis and the use of real-time MRI for the study of biomechanics. The International Skeletal Society recently awarded Dr. Gold the President's Medal, and this is the sixth time he was been awarded the Lauterbur Award for the best MRI paper from the Society for Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance (SCBT/MR). Dr. Gold reviews manuscripts for ten peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (JMRI) and the Journal of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (MRM), and he is on the editorial board of several publications. At Stanford, Dr. Gold practices clinical musculoskeletal radiology, teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. He teaches two courses in imaging physics and human anatomy for medical students and graduate students, and he was recently awarded the Kaiser Award for outstanding and innovative contributions to education. He also serves as an advisor and co-advisor for many engineering graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. To view his prior blog postings, please access http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/02/drs_gold_and_ha_2.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/01/drs_gold_and_ha.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/06/people_and_thei_6.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/04/awards_and_hono_37.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/04/awards_and_hono_31.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/10/awards_and_hono_19.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/04/awards_and_hono_1.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/02/awards_and_hono_18.html; and http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/02/new_faculty_hir_1.html.

Michael Lustig, PhD, engineering research associate, received his BSc in 2001 from the Department of Electrical Engineering, in Technion-IIT, Haifa, Israel. He completed his PhD in 2008 from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where his doctoral research focused on the application of compressed sensing to rapid MRI. Currently, he is a research associate in the Magnetic Resonance Systems Research Lab (MRSRL) in the Stanford Department of Engineering, where his research interests include medical imaging reconstruction, MR pulse sequence design, convex optimization, and inverse problems.

Dr. Shreyas Vasanawala, assistant professor of radiology, joined the Department of Radiology faculty in July of 2007, after receiving his degree and a PhD in biophysics from Stanford University, followed by residency training in radiology at Stanford University Medical Center and a pediatric radiology fellowship at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH). During his fellowship, Dr. Vasanawala received specialty training in pediatric musculoskeletal imaging at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and in pediatric cardiovascular imaging at Sick Kids in Toronto. At Stanford, Dr. Vasanawala's research focus includes testing the feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging techniques for evaluating pediatric and abdominal disease. In recognition of his research, he recently received an International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Seed Grant for his proposed research project, "Non-Contrast-Enhanced Renal MRA Using Multiple Inversion Recovery." Developed in collaboration with doctoral student Hattie Dong and Professor Dwight Nishimura, Dr. Vasanawala's proposal was cited for its innovation and potential impact. The competition was open to young investigators, and only one grant was awarded in each of the areas of low back pain and renal MRI. For his prior blog postings, please access http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2009/02/awards_and_hono_76.html; http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2008/07/awards_and_hono_43.html; and http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/07/new_faculty_hir.html.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" in Imaging: Radio Interview by Dr. Pat Basu

Pat Basu, MBA, MD, chief radiology resident, was recently interviewed on RSNA On-the-Air regarding the appropriate use of imaging examinations. Dr. Basu's interview was sent to several nationally syndicated radio stations and was derived from his presentation at the 2008 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Conference entitled, "Creating A Patient Centered Radiology Facility: An Imaging Center Where Radiologists Interact Directly with Their Patients." To listen to his radio interview, please click on the link below.

Did You Know?

Public Perception of Radiologists in 1956 and 2008
A 1956 survey by Eastman Kodak revealed that "[l]ess than one in four patients who had received a radiographic or fluoroscopic examination knew that there was a specialized physician--called a radiologist--who was involved in its performance or interpretation" (from "Who Are You? and Who Cares?" (Download file) by Linton, O; Academic Radiology September 2008;15(9):1212).

A 2008 national survey by the American College of Radiology (ACR) entitled "The Face of Radiology" revealed that Americans are still "split down the middle" regarding "whether a radiologist is a person who interprets or a person who administers the scan." During four focus groups in Miami, Florida, and Burlington, Vermont, adults age 35 and older had "general attitudes towards radiologists and radiology" that were "positive" and that reflected "the notion that the radiologist is a trained professional," though respondents were "split as to whether a radiologist is a licensed physician or a technician" (Download file).

People and Their Pets: Daisy

Daisy on Halloween 2008 (l) and adoption day (r)

Two years ago, Sheila Galuppo, marketing manager for outpatient imaging at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, rescued a four-month old Basset Hound named Daisy: "She was surrendered by a young couple who could not spend enough time with her. She escaped once before from their home and the Humane Society picked her up. I originally fostered her first since she was only four-months old and not adoptable yet. When I picked her up at the Humane Society, I suspected that she had caught Kennel Cough, but they insisted she was fine. The next day she was so sick; her breathing was distressed, and she was about five pounds under weight. After medical care, food, and lots of love, she returned to great condition. I adopted her a month later. She is now about two- and a half-years old. She and I have been in obedience training classes for over a year with the goal of obtaining her therapy dog license. We would like to volunteer at care centers and children's hospitals. There is nothing like bringing a smile to a child with the unconditional love of a furry friend."

Did You Know?

On March 1, 2009, Drs. Glazer and Beaulieu were quoted in an article from the New York Times entitled "Good or Useless, Medical Scans Cost the Same," regarding the varying quality of imaging scans. To view the article, please click here or Download file. The article also appears in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

New Staff Hires and Promotions: March 3, 2009

Sheila Galuppo was recently hired as our marketing manager for outpatient imaging at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. For over 15 years, she has worked in medical sales, building close working relationships with community physicians and their staff. Before joining our Department, she worked as the marketing manager for an independent start-up imaging center in the San Jose area for four years. Drawing on her knowledge and experience concerning excelling in a very competitive imaging industry, Ms. Galuppo's goal for Stanford Radiology is to obtain radiology referrals from our community physicians.

Born and raised in the San Jose area, Ms. Galuppo is from a second-generation Italian immigrant family: "I went to UC Santa Cruz as a marine biology major with dreams of becoming a veterinarian specializing in marine mammals. My mentors as a child were Jacques Cousteau, Marty Stauffer, Marlin Perkins, and, of course, mom and dad. Funny, how life takes us on a journey. While working as a veterinarian technician after college, I met many sales representatives coming to the physician's office, and I discovered a new passion, medical sales, and I have never looked back. I am also an avid scuba diver, although I prefer warm water diving in my older years. My other hobbies include camping, hiking, and dog training. Two years ago, I rescued a four-month old Basset Hound named Daisy. She and I have been in obedience training classes for over a year with the goal of obtaining her therapy dog license. We would like to volunteer at care centers and children's hospitals. There is nothing like bringing a smile to a child with the unconditional love of a furry friend."

(Image of Ms. Galuppo courtesy of Mark Riesenberger)

Daisy on Halloween 2008

New Staff Hires and Promotions: March 2, 2009

Douglas Cathon, MA, ARRT, has joined our Department as our Radiology quality manager at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Prior to coming to Stanford, Mr. Cathon worked at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He has over 30 years of management experience working in quality management; leading community programs; and teaching business and health courses, on topics including principles of management, organizational behavior, organizational theory, and human resources. Mr. Cathon has published a book entitled Management Dominos and has over 40 publications in professional journals on subjects such as stress management, performance, buying a computer system, and marketing. Other key areas of his experience include quality assessment and improvement; imaging operations management; departmental policy and procedural manuals; Certificates of Need and RFP's; cost analysis; coding/billing; supply control; and short- and long-range planning.

In addition, Mr. Cathon has clinical experience from his work as a radiological technologist in all areas of radiology and from his service in the Navy as a hospital corpsman with experience as an operating room technician; lab technician; X-ray technician; and pharmacy technician. In the Navy, he was also the leading petty officer on a number of duty stations, which included 10 ships, 2 clinics, and 4 hospitals, and he has 5 years of experience as a Total Quality Management instructor. In 1982, Mr. Cathon received a Navy Achievement Award for designing a medical department on board a ship. His educational background includes an MA in human resource development from Webster University, St. Louis, MO; an MA in health services management from Webster University, St. Louis, MO; a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Education (medical technology and business) from Wayland Baptist University, Plainview Texas; and EPIC-Radiant certification in the radiology RIS system. He is also an American Health Care Radiology Administrators Fellow.

When he is not at work, Mr. Cathon enjoys spending time with his two children and four grandchildren as well as driving his 94 Corvette.

(Image courtesy of Mark Riesenberger)