The Imaging Wire is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2020 Imaging Wire Awards, honoring this year’s most outstanding contributors to radiology.
The following Imaging Wire Award winners were nominated by their peers and selected by a panel of judges for their efforts to evolve radiology and improve the lives of clinicians and patients:
COVID Hero: Byron Christie, MD; Associate Chief Medical Officer of Integrations, Radiology Partners
When the pandemic hit, Dr. Christie and nine radiologists from RP’s SEAL team traveled across the U.S. to provide care in hard hit regions. After recovering from a COVID-19 infection that he contracted while treating patients in Florida, Dr. Christie increased his efforts to fight COVID-19 through his work at RP, continued plasma donations, and by educating medical students.
Diagnostic Humanitarian: Daniel J. Mollura, MD; President and CEO, RAD-AID International
Dr. Mollura is the Founder and CEO of RAD-AID International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding radiology care to underserved and resource-poor communities. Over the last 12 years, Dr. Mollura grew RAD-AID to nearly 14,000 members serving over 80 hospitals in 35 countries. Among many accomplishments this year, RAD-AID’s residency program in Guyana will graduate its first class of radiologists.
AI Activator: Jon T. DeVries, CEO; Qlarity Imaging
Under Jon’s leadership, Qlarity Imaging has made significant progress developing the company’s QuantX software, which integrates images from multiple modalities to assist radiologists in the assessment and characterization of breast abnormalities. DeVries continues to expand QuantX’s capabilities and market reach with an innovative approach to product development and partnerships.
Burnout Fighter: Marla B.K. Sammer, MD; Associate Professor of Pediatric Radiology, Texas Children’s Hospital
Faced with Texas Children’s Hospital’s massive imaging volume growth, Dr. Sammer introduced a new initiative to optimize workflow, balance distribution across teams, and improve radiologists’ workdays. These changes reduced Texas Children’s average turnaround for X-rays by 25% and other modalities by over 27%, while helping its radiologists reliably predict their workday, fostering a sense of fairness and control, and reducing burnout.
Insights to Action: Syed Zaidi, MD, MBA; Associate Chief Medical Officer for Integrations, Radiology Partners
Dr. Zaidi has consistently tackled imaging waste throughout his career, participating in Choosing Wisely and serving as a leader in the ACR’s Imaging 3.0 initiative. Dr. Zaidi also developed a utilization management program at his local hospital to limit unnecessary chest CT scans for pulmonary embolism, while helping to roll out a best practice recommendations program across Radiology Partners.
Continued Care: Jinghong Li, MD, PhD, University of California San Diego
Dr. Jinghong Li is an attending physician and associate professor specialized in pulmonary diseases and critical care at University of California San Diego. While caring for COVID-19 patients in UCSD’s ICU, Dr. Li also worked with engineers and scientists to develop a wearable ultrasonic patch to allow continuous bedside ultrasound monitoring. This patch would alleviate infection control concerns associated with manual bedside imaging, while helping predict respiratory failure due to COVID-19 pneumonia.
Cornerstone: Karen Holzberger, SVP and GM; Healthcare Diagnostics, Nuance Communications
As the leader of Nuance’s healthcare diagnostics team, Karen’s top focus is to drive innovations that advance the practice of radiology. That was on display this year, as Ms. Holzberger led the development of new capabilities that prioritize and add insights to COVID-related exams, delivered on Nuance’s promise to enable “AI at scale” through the Nuance AI Marketplace, and continued to enhance PowerScribe One.
Diversity & Inclusion: Kristina Elizabeth Hawk, MD; President, Matrix East Pod A, Radiology Partners
Dr. Kristina Elizabeth Hawk is a founding member of the RP Belonging Committee, which designs tracks and programs intended to amplify the roles of minority groups in the practice. Dr. Hawk has led outreach to diverse radiology residents and fellows, and serves on the ACR’s Commission for Women and Diversity, Stanford’s Radiology Diversity committee, and Ambra’s #Radxx board.
Congratulations to this year’s Imaging Wire Award winners and nominees, who’s efforts to elevate radiology is truly inspiring. Also, thanks to this year’s amazing judges and everyone who nominated these very deserving imaging professionals!
The 2020 Imaging Wire Award judges include: Bill Algee of Columbus Regional Hospital, Dr. Jared D. Christensen of Duke University Health, Dr. Keith J. Dreyer of Partners Healthcare, Dr. Allan Hoffman of Commonwealth Radiology Associates, Dr. Terence A.S. Matalon of Einstein Healthcare Network, and Dr. Syam Reddy of University of Chicago Ingalls Memorial.
