FAIRFAX, Va.—Matthew A. Mauro, M.D., FSIR, delivered the 2009 Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting last week in San Diego, Calif. This award, supported by the SIR Foundation, honors an interventional radiologist's extraordinary contributions to the field, dedicated service to SIR and distinguished career achievements in interventional radiology.
Mauro, who addressed "The Birth of a Specialty," is the Ernest H. Wood Distinguished Professor of Radiology and Surgery and chair of the radiology department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He was selected the recipient of the 25th annual Dotter lecture by 2008 SIR President John Kaufman, M.D., FSIR. This lecture award honors one of the founding fathers of interventional radiology, Dr. Charles T. Dotter.
At UNC, Mauro's special interests include interventional oncology, uterine artery embolization, the management of vascular malformations, angioplasty and stenting, biliary drainage procedures, embolization and stent grafts. He also supervises the resident rotation in vascular/interventional radiology; his involvement with the residency program includes lectures and one-on-one contact with the residents.
Mauro is a long-time SIR member; he served as president of the society from 1999 to 2000 and was chair of the SIR Foundation from 2002��. He has actively participated in a variety of roles on the Executive Committee throughout his membership and on the Scientific Program Committee since 2000. He is chair of the American College of Radiology's Committee on Interventional Radiology and a member of its Board of Chancellors. He is a trustee of the American Board of Radiology.
A member and fellow of numerous radiological societies, Mauro has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles and 30 book chapters and has served as a visiting professor/lecturer more than 200 times. His most recent work, the textbook "Image Guided Interventions," was published in 2008. The 2008 SIR president indicated that Mauro "has been—and continues to be—one of the most influential leaders in interventional radiology and radiology. I can think of no one more deserving of this honor."
2009 SIR Gold Medal Recipients
In addition, three individuals—Andreas Adam, MB, BS, FRCR, FSIR; Vincent P. Chuang, M.D., FSIR; and Thomas A. Sos, M.D., FSIR—were each awarded the society's Gold Medal, an honor that is given to those who have helped ensure the future of interventional radiology by advancing the quality of medicine and patient care.
Andreas Adam, MB, BS, FRCR, FSIR, professor of interventional radiology at the University of London and honorary consultant radiologist at Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital, has worked tirelessly throughout his career to promote interventional radiology around the world—lecturing extensively, publishing research in top medical journals and serving in prominent leadership positions at interventional radiology societies.
He has served as president of several European radiological societies and, in these roles, has worked to develop and maintain a strong collaborative relationship among interventional radiology societies around the world, especially in Europe, North America and Asia. Invited to give the prestigious Charles T. Dotter Lecture in 2006, Adam has served as editor for several radiological journals and on the editorial board of numerous others.
Vincent P. Chuang, M.D., FSIR, is head and a vice president of the Angiography and Interventional Oncoradiology Section of the Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center in Taipei, Taiwan.
Chuang's early research was centered on angiographic diagnosis and, later, on embolization of various forms of internal organ bleeding, particularly splenic, renal and gastric bleeding. As chief of the angio section at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, his next stage of research was to extend transcatheter arterial embolization and superselective catheterization technique into chemoembolization for liver tumor and transcatheter intra-arterial chemotherapy for various regional malignant tumors. He also collaborated on research for interventional procedures for peripheral arterial disease at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. He then headed the Interventional Oncology Section at the Koo Foundation of the Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center. During his career, he has mentored more than 100 fellows.
Thomas A. Sos, M.D., FSIR, a professor and vice chair of radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College as well as director of peripheral arterial disease at Weill Cornell Vascular, is widely regarded as one of the world's top authorities in both renal angioplasty and stenting. Sos has designed numerous devices for interventional radiology, including the first microcatheter, the "Sos Open-ended Guidewire," the first shaped embolization coil, the "Tornado," the "Viper" small vessel PTA catheter and the "Omni" series of selective and flush catheters.
His early scientific contributions were related largely to cardiac and coronary angiography. Once angioplasty was introduced, Sos became a leader in percutaneous renal and below knee angioplasty. He served as president of SIR from 1986�� and spent much of his career training fellows who are now contributors to interventional radiology.
2009 Leaders in Innovation Award
Sidney Wallace, M.D., FSIR, who had served as a professor of radiology; chairman, Department of Diagnostic Radiology; head, Division of Diagnostic Imaging and deputy division head for research, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston before retiring in 1996, was awarded the 2009 Leaders in Innovation Award by the SIR Foundation. This award acknowledges those individuals who have conceptualized and implemented an idea that has had an advantageous impact on the practice of interventional radiology.
Throughout his career, Wallace has been instrumental in advancing the knowledge and techniques used in interventional radiology around the world. He was one of the first to recognize interventional radiology's unique role and has been an advocate for supervising patient care and taking an active role in the decision-making process. He has also been a staunch supporter of the role of research in interventional radiology and is one of the founders of the John S. Dunn Research Foundation Center for Radiologic Sciences at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He has authored and coauthored 643 scientific papers and chapters and holds 36 patents for devices and pharmaceutical agents.
Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award
The SIR Foundation announced Filip Banovac, M.D., of Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., as the recipient of the 2009 Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award. This award promotes excellence in academic research for members early in their careers and honors the founding editor of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology by recognizing the importance of the young investigator in developing interventional solutions for the future.
Banovac's manuscript, "Radiofrequency Ablation of Lung Tumors in Swine Assisted by a Navigation Device With Preprocedural Volumetric Planning," was chosen as the best fit model of promoting academic research among young interventional radiologists.
For more information about these awards or to learn more about interventional radiology, visit online at www.SIRweb.org and www.SIRFoundation.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine.
Today many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation
SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. Visit www.SIRFoundation.org.