Radiological Society of North America Awards Honorary Memberships

December 2, 2013 — The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) awarded honorary membership at the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting (RSNA 2013) to three individuals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding contributors to the field of radiology and its allied sciences. The recipients were Gabriel Krestin, M.D., Ph.D., from Rotterdam, Netherlands; Anne W.M. Lee, M.D., from Shenzhen Guangdong, China; and Malgorzata Szczerbo-Trojanowska, M.D., from Lublin, Poland.

 

An international ambassador for radiology, Gabriel P. Krestin, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology and chair, Department of Radiology, Erasmus University Medical Centre Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has worked passionately to widen the specialty's reach.

 

As 2012 president of the European Society of Radiology (ESR), Krestin oversaw the launch of the first International Day of Radiology (IDoR) aimed at building greater awareness of the value that radiology contributes to patient care and healthcare overall. The success of the joint initiative of ESR, RSNA and the American College of Radiology (ACR) — which grew from the first European Day of Radiology in 2011—demonstrates Krestin's commitment to keeping radiology in the spotlight across the globe.

 

"By bridging an alliance across radiology worldwide, Krestin supports the RSNA 2013 theme, 'The Power of Partnership,' and has cemented a strong partnership between ESR and RSNA," said 2013 RSNA President Sarah Donaldson, M.D. "Dr. Krestin is a scholar of the arts and sciences. While radiologists around the world learn from his scientific contributions, the walls of Dr. Krestin's home are covered with his collections of fine paintings. He is a true humanitarian with unparalleled devotion to the radiological sciences."

 

Born in Romania, Krestin immigrated to Germany at the age of 19. In 1981, he graduated from the faculty of medicine at the University of Cologne, Germany, where he completed his radiology residency and his doctoral thesis. In 1990, he was appointed staff radiologist and head of the MRI Centre at the Department of Radiology at Zurich University Hospital in Switzerland, where he became associate professor of radiology, head of the clinical radiology service and acting chair of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology.

 

Krestin, whose research interests primarily focus on imaging of abdominal organs and cardiovascular disease, molecular imaging and population imaging, served as a permanent visiting professor at Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, Calif., from 1998 to 2009.

 

As ESR president, Krestin worked to strengthen the society's role and deepen its impact on the European political and scientific arena. His other widespread involvement in radiologic associations includes serving as president of both the European Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (ESMRMB) and the Association of University Radiologists Europe (AURE), the latter of which he is a founding member. Most recently, he served as the 2013 president of the International Society for Strategic Studies in Radiology (ISSSR).

 

Fervently committed to radiology research, Krestin worked with ESR to establish the European Institute for Biomedical Imaging Research (EIBIR) in 2006 to foster and strengthen biomedical imaging research in Europe.

 

An RSNA member since 1999, Krestin has presented numerous RSNA refresher courses and served as a panelist for the RSNA 2010 International Trends program, focusing on research challenges facing radiologists worldwide. He has served on the RSNA International Advisory Committee since 2010.

 

A frequent contributor to Radiology, Krestin served as an associate editor for Radiology in 1999 and as a consultant to the editor in 2004. He has authored more than 350 original articles and 80 book chapters and has edited seven books, some of which have been translated in several languages. In 2010, he was appointed a member of the distinguished panel of perspectives authors of Radiology.

 

His numerous accolades include honorary membership of the Belgian, French, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish and Swiss societies of radiology. ESMRMB bestowed upon Krestin honorary fellowship in 2011 and honorary membership in 2013. He was the Couch-Kerley Traveling Professor to the Royal College of Radiologists in the United Kingdom and received the Albers Schönberg Medal of the German Society of Radiology.

 

RSNA presented Krestin, M.D., Ph.D., with honorary membership in recognition of his formidable achievements as an internationally renowned leader, researcher and activist.

 

"It is a great privilege to follow in the footsteps of the imminent international radiologists who have been bestowed with RSNA Honorary Membership, and I consider this honor a true recognition of the joint efforts of our societies to promote and strengthen all aspects of our profession," said Krestin.

 

Decreasing mortality from nasopharyngeal cancer — a disease far more prevalent in Southeast Asia than in the western world — can be attributed in large part to the efforts of Anne W.M. Lee, M.D., and her dedicated colleagues. In addition to spending much of her career researching nasopharyngeal cancer, Lee has established departments of radiation oncology in hospitals in Hong Kong and mainland China and facilitated robust clinical trials testing new therapies in head and neck cancer worldwide.

 

"Anne is one of the most influential women in radiation oncology worldwide, best known for investigations in the management and treatment of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer," said Sarah Donaldson, M.D. and president, RSNA 2013. "Her enormous clinical experience, combined with direct mentorship from professor John Ho, has led the efforts in our understanding of this complex malignancy. I've been learning from Anne continually over the 25 years I have known her."

 

Lee is the chief of service at the Center of Clinical Oncology at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital in Shenzhen, China. She is also an honorary consultant in the Department of Clinical Oncology at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong, honorary consultant in healthcare management for the Hong Kong East Cluster, Hospital Authority and an honorary clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine.

 

Lee received her medical degree from the University of Hong Kong and began her study of oncology under the mentorship of John Ho, professor, University of Hong Kong and a pioneer in nasopharyngeal cancer. Trained in radiation oncology and medical oncology, Lee attained fellowship in the U.K. Royal College of Radiologists, Hong Kong College of Radiologists and Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. Lee received further overseas training at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, England, Stanford Medical Center in Stanford, California and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

 

In 2012, after more than 35 years of service to public hospitals in Hong Kong, Lee took up the challenge of starting the Center of Clinical Oncology at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, a project that attempted to introduce medical service reforms in mainland China. Lee also initiated the Hong Kong Nasopharyngeal Cancer Study Group to encourage multicenter collaboration in clinical trials and large-scale retrospective studies. She is the leader of clinical sciences in the Center of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Research, an area of excellence project awarded by the University Grant Committee of Hong Kong.

 

During the 30 years that Lee has helped in public education and research on nasopharyngeal cancer treatment, the age-standardized incidence rate of the disease in Hong Kong has decreased by over 50 percent and the mortality rate by over 60 percent. At the same time, the five-year disease-specific survival rate has increased from 50 percent to over 80 percent.

 

Currently, Lee is the vice president of the Hong Kong College of Radiologists and vice chair of the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society. She has served as chair of the Hong Kong Nasopharyngeal Cancer Study Group and president of the Hong Kong Head and Neck Society. Her service to international organizations includes helping the Union for International Cancer Control set up the national Cancer Staging Committee in China.

 

Lee contributes to journals worldwide including the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Radiotherapy & Oncology, and American Journal of Clinical Oncology. Awards she has received for her work include the Sir Patrick Manson Gold Medal of the University Hong Kong and honorary membership in the European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO).

 

RSNA presented Anne Lee with honorary membership for her significant contributions to increasing the understanding and optimal treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer — leading to improved survival — in Southeast Asia and throughout the world.

 

"No words can fully describe how overwhelmed I am with this most prestigious honor," said Lee. "My achievements today would not be possible if I did not have the great fortune of standing on the shoulders of giants, so this honor is a tribute to all my mentors and my parents."

 

Neither interventional radiology nor radiology in Poland would be what they are today without the contributions of Malgorzata Szczerbo-Trojanowska, M.D. Thanks to her commitment to education, she is also shaping the future of radiology across all of Europe.

 

Szczerbo-Trojanowska is a professor of radiology, chair of the Department of Radiology and head of the Department of Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology at the Medical University in Lublin, Poland.

 

"I think of Margaret as the most important Polish female radiologic scientist since Marie Curie," said Sarah Donaldson, M.D and president, RSNA 2013. "She has paved the way for women, interventionalists and radiologists from Poland and other Eastern European countries with her unending contributions to the Polish Medical Society of Radiology, Polish Congress of Radiology and the European Congress of Radiology."

 

Soon after receiving her medical degree from the Medical University in Lublin, Szczerbo-Trojanowska joined the newly established Department of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the university. In 1995, she was appointed to her current position as head of the Department of Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology. She has served as chair of the Department of Radiology since 1999. During her career, Szczerbo-Trojanowska has received additional training at Princess Margaret Hospital and the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, Uppsala University and Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany.

 

Some of Szczerbo-Trojanowska's greatest accomplishments include her work with societies to raise the profile of radiology in Poland and across Europe. She co-founded the interventional radiology section of the Polish Medical Society of Radiology and co-founded the Polish Society of Magnetic Resonance. In 2001, Szczerbo-Trojanowska was elected president of the Polish Medical Society of Radiology and in that same year presided over its congress. She was the first female to hold either of those positions.

 

Szczerbo-Trojanowska also has served on various committees of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), as the first ECR president from Eastern Europe and as a member of the executive council of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE).

 

Since 2006, Szczerbo-Trojanowska has been a member of the steering committee of the European School of Radiology. She also helped establish the first European School of Interventional Radiology (ESIR) courses in Eastern Europe. She has been a mentor to 26 radiologists who obtained their doctorate under her supervision.

 

With research interests in vascular interventions including embolizations, carotid stenting, aortic aneurysms and stent grafting, Szczerbo-Trojanowska has authored and co-authored 208 peer-reviewed publications and 10 book chapters. She has given more than 250 scientific presentations at numerous international scientific meetings, including more than 100 invited lectures. Szczerbo-Trojanowska is a reviewer and editorial board member of many radiological and medical journals including Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, Acta Angiologica and the Polish Journal of Radiology.

 

Szczerbo-Trojanowska has received many honors, including the gold medal of the European Society of Radiology, Golden Cross of Merit from the president of Poland, the medal of the Polish Chamber of Physicians and president's award of the American Association for Women Radiologists. She is a CIRSE Distinguished Fellow and has been awarded honorary membership in the radiological societies of Argentina, Germany, Hungary and Poland, as well as honorary membership in the Seldinger Society of Interventional Radiology.

 

RSNA presented Malgorzata Szczerbo-Trojanowska with honorary membership for her outstanding contributions to interventional radiology and radiologic education and her commitment to raising the profile of Polish radiology in Europe and throughout the world

 

"RSNA meetings, which I have been attending regularly for many years, made a significant impact on my radiological career," said Szczerbo-Trojanowska. "Now, being awarded RSNA honorary membership and having my name placed among those whom I admire, learn from and respect is a tremendous honor."

 

For more information: www.rsna.org