Issue 55| Summer/ Early Fall 2024 | |
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Dear All,
Welcome to our Summer / “Early Fall” 2024 newsletter. Apologies for the publishing delay. In this issue we share a mix of joy and sadness: The joy associated with graduation, awards, and welcoming new residents; and the sadness of the passing of Dr. Jerry Balakian. The past academic year has been one of continued growth and accomplishments. Despite the record clinical volume in fiscal year 2024 (which ended on 9/30/24) we have continued to advance our educational and research missions and find ways to support each other and our community. At the end of this month, we will welcome 3 external reviewers: Drs. Chertoff, DeStigter and Oates, who will lead the “5-year review” of the department as required by the UMass University system.
As always, please send me any items that you would like to share in RadNews.
Sincerely,
Max
Online newsletter
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Maria Barile, Isha Gujrathi, Laurie Sena, Patrick Assoua, and Lacey McIntosh volunteered with Carisa Lozoraitis visited the Worcester Public School system Sept 17 giving two school-wide talks about the risks of tobacco and nicotine use to middle and high school students. | |
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Max P. Rosen, MD, MPH, chair and professor of radiology, has been named to the UMass Memorial Chair in Radiology. During his tenure as chair, Dr. Rosen has nurtured and guided a vibrant, growing department with more than 90 radiologists, 40 scientists, several UMass Chan preclinical teaching faculty and dozens of residents and fellows. The Department of Radiology now performs approximately 900,000 studies per year, providing comprehensive diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology services throughout the UMass Memorial Health system, while conducting research and teaching the next generation of caregivers.
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It’s with great sadness I share the news below that Dr. Jerry Balikian passed away last Friday. Jerry was the Division Chief of Chest Radiology at UMass for over 20 years. He was Professor of Radiology. Anyone who worked here more than 10 years ago likely had many fond interactions with Dr. Balikian. He was a mainstay of the Radiology department and retired in 2015. For those of you in the department who did not have the pleasure of knowing and working with Jerry – he was one of the most gracious, dedicated, and optimistic Radiologists I have ever worked with. He is the inspiration for our Jerry Balikian “Extra Mile” award. | |
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On Wednesday, August 28, we celebrated Eloisa Torres’ retirement. She is leaving the Radiology Department after almost 33 Years! The Radiology file room will feel a little empty without her and we will miss definitely miss her!
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We were delighted to welcome Dr. Pari Pandharipande, as the 17th Annual Edward Smith Lecturer. The annual lecture took place on June 24, 2024 at UMass Chan Medical School. The title of Dr. Pranharipande's presentation was "Connections Between Research, Hospital Operations and Leadership."
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The 2024 Radiology Graduation dinner and ceremony was held on June 24 at the Worcester Art Museum. Graduation events kicked off in the morning with the 17th Annual Edward Smith Lecture given by by Dr. Pari Pandharipande and the presentation of the first "Dr. Ferrucci Radiologist of the Year Award." to Ryan Tai, MD. The evening events began with a cocktail hour followed by dinner and the awards presentations. | |
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Ryan Tai, MD - The first ever recipient of the Joseph T. Ferrucci Radiologist of the Year award, Dr. Tai epitomizes the spirit of the award and its namesake through his selfless dedication, expert clinical skill, and brilliant teaching. | |
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The UMass Radiology Department Teacher of the Year Award was started in 1986 by the residents in the department who wanted to honor Dr. Umali for her teaching. Each year the radiology residents select - by vote - the Teacher of the Year. This year the residents chose to honor Jean-Marc Gauguet, MD, PhD as Teacher of the Year. Dr. Gauguet is division chief of the pediatric imaging division.
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Resident Teacher of the Award recognizes residents displaying excellence in teaching medical students in the clinical setting. The award is voted on by the Radiology Hands On and Diagnostic Radiology elective medical students that rotate throughout the academic year. This year the students selected to honor Michael Purcaro, MD, PhD as Radiology Resident Teacher of the Year for his outstanding teaching skills and ability to connect with medical students in the radiology department.
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The 2024 Annual Jerry Balikian "Go The Extra Mile" Award was presented to Patrick Svrcek, MD - Selected by his resident peers for always going the extra mile (taking extra call shifts, reading extra studies, etc.). His outstanding communication skills, good citizenship toward his fellow residents, and compassionate patient care have been evident throughout his residency.
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The 2024 Michael A. King, PhD, Research Award was presented to Hector Benatti, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Edwards-Gray Lab - Nominated by his peers and selected by the Education Committee for paradigm-shifting research and helping to bring novel neurotherapeutics from the bench to the bedside. His work on the NIH-funded CREATE grant established a novel siRNA for Huntington's Disease on a large animal model, paving the way to enable the first human clinical trial.
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Welcome to the new PGY-2 radiology residents and fellows. They have joined an excellent group of residents with new Chief Residents Kristopher Kelly, MD and John Malinowski, MD.
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Lacey McIntosh, DO, division chief of oncologic and molecular imaging recently attended the Pancreatic Cancer Alliance (PCA) meeting. The purpose of this specific in-person meeting was to expand the ties between researchers and clinicians to facilitate further collaborations, as well as honor the recently retired surgical oncologist, Dr. Giles Whalen, for his stewardship to the PCA.
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Medical Student Kylie Long presented at the American Society of Emergency Radiology (ASER) annual meeting in Washington, DC. Her project titled “ "Gamification of Healthcare Finances: A New Frontier to Improving Medical Trainee's Healthcare Financial Literacy Rate” was a platform oral presentation.
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UMass Radiology residents and faculty joined others from Massachusetts to participate in Capitol Hill Day with the American College of Radiology. On Wednesday 4/17/2024 we met with representatives of our Members of Congress to discuss issues related to the physician workforce crisis, Medicare payment reform, and appropriate use criteria (AUC) implementation for advanced diagnostic imaging. | |
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