Leadership
The depth of MIR’s leadership is evidenced in the magnitude of their strides. From creating “cancer goggles” for surgeons, to catapulting the field of PET imaging to new heights, our leaders are active contributors to the fields of radiological research, education and patient care.
Richard L. Wahl, MD, director of MIR and the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor of Radiology, was among the first to harness the power of the immune system, now known as radioimmunotherapy. to precisely target radiation therapy to cancers. He is also at the forefront of fusion imaging, which combines data from multiple kinds of scans to help diagnose and characterize cancers more precisely.
Richard L. Wahl, MD
Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Farrokh Dehdashti, the inaugural Drs. Barry A. and Marilyn J. Siegel Professor of Radiology, serves as senior vice chair and division direction of nuclear medicine. A member of the MIR faculty for over 30 years, Dehdashti has expanded the role of PET imaging in oncology and conducted influential studies on several novel PET diagnostic compounds.
Farrokh Dehdashti, MD
Senior Vice Chair and Division Director, Nuclear Medicine
Robert J. Gropler, MD, senior vice chair and division director of radiological sciences, has advanced PET imaging on various fronts — from developing noninvasive imaging tools to distinguish vulnerable plaque, to establishing MIR’s PET Radiotracer Translation and Resource Center, a nationwide network of collaborations and U.S. innovation hub for the development of novel PET radiotracers.
Robert J. Gropler, MD
Senior Vice Chair and Division Director, Radiological Sciences
As senior vice chair and division director of diagnostic imaging, Robert C. McKinstry, MD, PhD, leads our team of radiologists who use images to diagnose conditions and guide disease therapies. McKinstry, also the Orthwein Professor of Radiology and Pediatrics, helped developed a set of criteria to distinguish tumors from other bright spots in kids with a common genetic syndrome.
Robert C. McKinstry, MD, PhD
Senior Vice Chair and Division Director, Diagnostic Imaging
Vamsi R. Narra, MD, senior vice chair for informatics and new business development, has been instrumental in reimagining the reading room during COVID-19. He spearheaded the establishment of satellite reading rooms, including installing home workstations that enabled remote readouts for faculty reading critical studies.
Vamsi R. Narra, MD
Senior Vice Chair, Imaging Informatics and New Business Development
Pamela K. Woodard, MD, serves as senior vice chair and division director of radiology research facilities. Woodard, also the Hugh Monroe Professor of Radiology, has made tremendous strides in cardiovascular imaging research, including leading a landmark study that established a new standard of care for diagnosing blood clots in the lungs. She also is the principal investigator for the NIH T32 TOP-TIER training grant in translational imaging research at MIR.
Pamela K. Woodard, MD
Senior Vice Chair and Division Director, Radiology Research Facilities
Samuel I. Achilefu, PhD, the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology, developed “cancer goggles” that allow surgeons to see cancerous cells. Achilefu, also chief of MIR’s Biophotonics Research Center, pioneered the development of molecular optical imaging and therapy, and he discovered a new molecular entity that can deliver drugs to many types of cancer.
Samuel I. Achilefu, PhD
Vice Chair, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
A renowned educator, Sanjeev Bhalla, MD, embodies MIR’s philosophy of teaching “at the elbow,” side-by-side with residents. Bhalla, an alumnus of MIR’s residency and fellowship program, is chief of cardiothoracic imaging and serves as MIR’s vice chair for education. He is a four-time recipient of RSNA’s Honored Educator Award and was named the 2021 ARRS Distinguished Educator.
Sanjeev Bhalla, MD
Vice Chair, Education
As vice chair for quality and safety, Andrew J. Bierhals, MD, works to make MIR is the safest possible place for patients to receive imaging exams and undergo minimally invasive procedures. Bierhals has helped secure funding and manage a dedicated follow-up program to limit delay in diagnosis for patients with incidental imaging findings.
Andrew J. Bierhals, MD
Vice Chair, Quality and Safety