|
When did you join UTHealth Houston?
I joined the UTHealth Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging (DII) (aka Radiology) in October 1998.
What brought you here?
My wife was offered a faculty position at the University of Houston in 1997. In order to join her, I resigned from a computer support specialist position at UCLA School of Medicine, where I had worked since I graduated from UCLA in 1991.
Tell me about your work history here.
I joined DII as a programmer analyst in October 1998, primarily providing desktop and network connectivity support. My immediate supervisor was the late Bill Shepherd, who kindly provided me with the opportunity to grow my career in many ways. I was promoted to manager of Radiology IT in September of 2010. Over the next 14 years, due to the significant growth of the department under the leadership of Dr. Susan John, my scope of responsibilities increased significantly. Today, as the manager of Imaging Informatics Section, I work closely with the DII vice-chairs of informatics to manage the outpatient imaging operations and the Memorial Hermann and Harris Health Hospital District/UT Remote Radiologist workflows. I generally oversee radiology systems and applications, including the addition of new radiology clinics and deployments/upgrades to ensure functionality across institutional and external networks. None of this could happen without the hard work and expertise of the DII Imaging Informatics team that I am honored to lead.
What are you most proud of accomplishing?
There have been many milestones achieved through the years. I would say that I am most proud of the lead role I played in 2011 negotiating with Fujifilm Healthcare, a leading provider of extensive range of imaging solutions, to acquire and deploy their cloud-based Synapse Radiology Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) and RIS. It is the first fully integrated, web-based PACS that is highly scalable and has 24/7 availability, which allows for optimal patient care. Also important was the deployment in 2011 of the Memorial Hermann Ambra MHiE Image Gateway platform, which enabled the secure exchange of patient images from the DII 3T MRI Clinic and other UT clinics to Memorial Hermann Ambra cloud storage/GE PACS. Another key accomplishment was achieved in 2016 while working on behalf of Dr. Rebecca Girardet and UT Pediatrics to negotiate the use of the Ambra cloud platform to upload patient CD images for the Forensic Assessment Center Network (FACN) for Pediatric Radiology consultations. This eliminated the need for the seven different clinics in the network across Texas to have CDs delivered via courier.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I really appreciate my department and the people in it! The Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging and UTHealth in general is a great place to work. Providing support to the talented group of sub-specialty clinical and research faculty and staff through the years to help improve patient care and resident training has been truly satisfying on a daily basis. Every day brings a new challenge, which makes the work exciting and meaningful. I am proud of the many years of service I have dedicated to DII and am grateful for all the opportunities the department and the institution have provided, allowing me to constantly grow my skills and knowledge.
When you are not at work, how do you spend your time?
I love to walk at Memorial Park, often with my wife, enjoying nature. I also enjoy going to the gym to work out. I like to watch sports on TV (basketball, baseball, football), especially during the playoffs. Most of all, I enjoy travel to California, Africa/Middle East, and Europe, when possible.
| 
