Home | Technical Exhibits | Attendees | Meeting Program | Past/Future Meetings | Newsroom | R&E Foundation | RSNA.org

  Gary M. Glazer, MD

Gary M. Glazer, MD

Gary M. Glazer, MD, is a diagnostic radiologist at the helm of cancer staging breakthroughs, working to bring radiologists front and center in the professional and public consciousness.

"Through his dedication to bringing radiology into the molecular age, his vision and personal charm, Dr Glazer has reawakened the sleeping giant of Stanford Radiology," said 2009 RSNA President Gary J. Becker, MD. "His ability to work imaginatively and productively with competing industrial leaders and the NIH is a tribute to his many talents."

"The gold medal means so much to me because radiology has been a large part of my life," said Dr Glazer. "As a second-generation radiologist, I was immersed in radiology even as a child and, subsequently, studied with some of the most distinguished radiologists of all time. It brings me great joy to receive the gold medal because I feel that I share this honor with my role models and mentors, as well as colleagues, who have guided me along the way."

Dr Glazer is the Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor in the Medical Sciences and chair of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate in cellular biology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Dr Glazer received his medical degree in 1976 from Case Western Reserve University Medical School in Cleveland. He completed an internship in internal medicine, a diagnostic radiology residency, and a fellowship in body CT and ultrasonography at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 1981 Dr Glazer returned to Michigan and his alma mater at Ann Arbor. He ascended the ranks, advancing in 6 years to full professorship in the university's radiology department and cancer center and serving as director of the Body Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Divisions.

Dr Glazer's research placed him at the hub of some of the most significant breakthroughs in CT and MR imaging in the 1980s. His work helped to define normal and pathological anatomy of the pulmonary hilum and mediastinal lymph nodes on cross-sectional images, standards used widely today in radiology and thoracic surgery, particularly in the staging of lung cancer. His work in CT as well as MR classification of adrenal and liver tumors resulted in his election, at age 34, to the Society for Body Computed Tomography.

Wrote the late Charles E. Putman, MD, "I recently reviewed the major contributions that have been made in the area of cancer research in all disciplines. In diagnostic radiology there is no other single author who has added so much to our understanding of the role of CT than those contributions of Dr Glazer."

In 1989, Dr Glazer moved to California and assumed his current role. He is the fifth chair in the radiology department's 100-year history. Under his direction, the department has flourished as a forum for medical imaging research. The Richard M. Lucas Center for Imaging at Stanford, established in 1992, has produced new methods in functional MR, diffusion-tensor imaging, real-time MR for therapeutic interventions, body MR techniques for cancer detection, CT angiography, 3D image visualization, novel techniques such as inverse geometry CT, and, most recently, molecular imaging.

Dr Glazer has worked to make radiology more patient-centered and to promote the "visible radiologist." At Stanford, he directed development of an architecturally and programmatically patient-centered imaging facility. "The increase in very high-spatial-resolution imaging methods over the past decades has not been accompanied by any meaningful increase in the visibility of radiologists to their patients," he and colleague Julie A. Ruiz, PhD, wrote in a 2006 Radiology editorial. "We propose that we ask our patients whether they desire communication with us about the results of their imaging examinations. Those requesting results should be provided with them promptly."

Forging strong relationships with governing bodies and industry, Dr Glazer has served as a consultant to the NIH Task Force for the Imaging Sciences and National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. He has also served on dozens of medical committees, including RSNA's Research Development Committee, the American Roentgen Ray Society's Committee on Research and Education, and the Conjoint Committee on Diagnostic Radiology (comprising the American College of Radiology, Association of University Radiologists, and Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments). He is past president and continues to serve on the executive board of the International Society of Strategic Studies in Radiology (ISSSR).

An RSNA member since 1982, Dr Glazer has been awarded honorary membership in the German and Japanese radiological societies. He has authored 155 scientific articles, three books, and eight book chapters. His Staging of Neoplasms, published in 1986, was one of the first to detail staging issues in CT.

In recent research, Dr Glazer has investigated body imaging techniques, noninvasive cancer therapy monitoring, and tissue characterization. He discovered that image-guided tumor insonification can amplify tumor biomarker signals in the blood and identify the biomarker release site.

Dr Glazer's projects not only bring hope to patients who will benefit from the resulting interventions, they also make hope visible—quite literally. One of Dr Glazer's novel projects investigated the neural bases of hopelessness and hopefulness with functional MR imaging. The study may have implications in treating anxiety and depression disorders, reported Stanford's Department of Radiology in its Annual Update 2008/2009, and may lead to "identifying biomarkers to assess methods that increase hope and designing studies that train individuals to sustain hope in the face of adversity."

Dr Glazer's work is helping to sustain hope for the field of radiology—and to ensure the specialty reaches new heights. RSNA is honored to present Dr Glazer with its Gold Medal.

  Brian C. Lentle, MD

Brian C. Lentle, MD

Brian C. Lentle, MD, has dedicated his career to supporting education for the next generation of radiologists and building domestic and international relationships to promote radiology on a global scale.

Those commitments were mirrored at RSNA, where Dr Lentle served as liaison for education on the RSNA Board of Directors, as a member of the FutuRAD Committee and as RSNA 2004 president, when he developed the annual meeting theme, Radiology's Global Forum, and titled his president's address, "Radiology: Beyond Borders."

Fusing his passion for radiology with an intense interest in the underlying scientific principles, Dr Lentle's diverse areas of expertise include nuclear medicine, radiology, osteoporosis, and the history of medicine. After earning his bachelor's degree in medicine (MBChB) in 1959 from the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff, the Wales native went on to complete his medical degree with a thesis on "The Complications of Diabetes Mellitus" at the school now known as the University of Wales College of Medicine.

Dr Lentle is a professor emeritus and former head of the Department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, a position he held from 1991 to 2000. From 1986 to 1991, he served as part-time professor in the Department of Radiology at UBC, as head of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, and director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine at Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre. Prior to moving to Vancouver, Dr Lentle was a professor of radiology at the University of Alberta and director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.

"I had the distinct pleasure of serving 3 of my 8 years on the RSNA Board alongside Dr Lentle, who graced our meetings with his wisdom and wit, and who reliably demonstrated by example what thoughtful stewardship is all about," said 2009 RSNA President Gary J. Becker, MD.

Dr Lentle said he has immense respect for RSNA and its volunteers, staff, and members. "Not least is RSNA's capacity to see the present as a doorway into the future," he said. "RSNA has given me immeasurably more than I might ever contribute. The gold medal is an honor not so much about me as something I am proud to share with my wife and fellow Canadians."

Possessing a keen understanding of radiation protection, Dr Lentle served as chair of the Canadian Atomic Energy Control Board Advisory Committee on Radiology Protection when the seminal International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations on radiation protection were introduced.

Retiring from clinical practice in 2008, Dr Lentle currently serves as a radiologist for the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study and the Steroid-induced Osteoporosis in a Pediatric Population Canadian Incidence Study.

Dr Lentle's editorial accomplishments include regular submissions to Radiology, including co-authoring "Osteoporosis: What a Clinician Expects to Learn from a Patient's Bone Density Examination" in 2003, and contributing to the editorial, "What We Do Not Know Yet in the Radiologic Sciences," in 2007.

Dr Lentle also served as co-editor/writer on the book, A New Kind of Ray: The Radiological Sciences in Canada, published in time for the centennial of the discovery of the X-ray in 1995. He has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, jointly edited three books, and written 17 book chapters. He currently serves as a reviewer for Radiology, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Journal of Clinical Densitometry, and Journal of the Canadian Association of Radiologists.

An RSNA member since 1993, Dr Lentle is a past president of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and the Pacific Northwest Radiological Society. He is currently a member of the International Society of Clinical Densitometry's Board of Directors and chair of the Bone Mineral Densitometry Facility Accreditation Committee for the Ontario Association of Radiologists. He earned specialty qualifications in radiology and nuclear medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada and is an American College of Radiology fellow.

Dr Lentle's other achievements include honorary membership in the Toronto Radiology Society, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, and European Society of Radiology, the Exhibit Gold Award from the Canadian Association of Radiologists, the Exhibit Silver Medal from SNM and the Silver Jubilee Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

For his dedication to radiologic education, commitment to expanding radiology worldwide, and passion for the basic principles of science, RSNA is honored to present Dr Lentle with its Gold Medal.

  David C. Levin, MD

David C. Levin, MD

An expert in vascular imaging and interventions, David C. Levin, MD, is both a prolific researcher and devoted protector of radiology.

Dr Levin is professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He has been called an "imaging utilization watchdog" and is well known for investigating issues in imaging costs and self-referral trends among nonradiologist physicians.

"Dr Levin is an enthusiastic teacher, researcher, and practitioner of cardiovascular and interventional radiology," said 2009 RSNA President Gary J. Becker, MD. "I first encountered Dr Levin when I was a resident in the late 1970s, attending his RSNA refresher course on coronary arteriography. He was such an effective teacher, whose wealth of experience and excitement about his work showed in every explanation he gave and in his answer to every question. Now, more than 30 years later, I feel fortunate to call him a career-long colleague and friend."

"It is a thrill and honor to receive the gold medal," said Dr Levin. "RSNA is the premier radiology organization when it comes to research and the education of its members," he said. "I've been coming to this meeting for over 40 years and still get a kick out of presenting abstracts or refresher courses. I give my sincere thanks to the society and all its members."

A 1955 graduate of Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in economics, Dr Levin became interested in medicine during his service as a jet fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He subsequently received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed a surgical internship and a radiology residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center.

From 1969 to 1973 Dr Levin was an assistant professor of radiology at Cornell Medical College. His subsequent faculty appointments were associate professor of radiology at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center and associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, where he was co-director of the cardiac cath lab and interventional radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He became full professor at Harvard in 1981 and acting chair of the Brigham radiology department in 1985. In 1986 he was appointed professor and chair of radiology at Jefferson Medical College and Thomas Jefferson University.

During his academic career, Dr Levin established himself as an authority in cardiovascular and interventional radiology, investigating the morphologic aspects of coronary artery stenosis, diagnostic angiography, and angioplasty and other percutaneous interventions for vascular disease. In 1981 he received the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) Herbert Stauffer Award for the best published basic science paper for a study of vascular resistance changes in an experimental model of arterial stenosis.

Since his semi-retirement in 2002, Dr Levin has served as a consultant for Houston-based radiology utilization management company HealthHelp as well as OIA, an imaging center development firm based in Nashville, Tenn, and ECRI, a nonprofit healthcare technology organization in Philadelphia. He also maintains part-time teaching, clinical, and research positions at Jefferson Medical College's Department of Radiology, where he still performs coronary CT angiography procedures. He helped to establish the Jefferson Center for Research on Utilization of Imaging Services to investigate economic issues in radiology, including utilization and costs of imaging procedures and the effects of self-referral. Dr Levin emphasizes that new discoveries by radiologists will help to preserve their standing in the medical community. "Research continues to be an important element," Dr Levin and colleagues wrote in a 1999 Radiology editorial. "We again emphasize that by generously supporting research, community hospital and private practice radiologists not only help advance the science of radiology but also help protect themselves against encroachment by other physicians."

Dr Levin has been a member of the AUR executive committee, 1995-1996 president of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD), and 1989-1991 chair of the American Heart Association's Council on Cardiovascular Radiology. An RSNA member since 1974, he served as RSNA's third vice-president in 1996, as chair of RSNA's Health Policy and Practice Committee, and on the cardiovascular subcommittee of the Scientific Program Committee and the Health Policy and Practice section of the Refresher Course Committee. From 1987 to 2002 he was a scientific advisor to the RSNA Research & Education (R&E) Foundation.

The author of 241 published scientific papers, 280 abstracts, 23 book chapters, and a textbook, Dr Levin has served on the editorial boards of six radiology journals, including Radiology, The American Journal of Roentgenology, and Journal of the American College of Radiology. In 2008, the endowed David C. Levin Professorship and Chair of Radiology was established in his honor at Thomas Jefferson University. Dr Levin currently serves on a number of American College of Radiology committees, is a member of the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee, and co-chairs the Expert Panel on Outpatient Imaging Efficiency for the National Quality Forum.

Dr Levin continues to speak out on issues of imaging utilization and delivers practical guidance to radiologists for maintaining their edge. He has delivered 531 invited lectures or presentations at national medical meetings and encourages other radiologists to spread the word as well.

For his commitment to professional excellence and the integrity of the specialty, RSNA is honored to present Dr Levin with its Gold Medal.