A Celebration of Early Champions, New Investigators, and the Collaborations that Drive Imaging Research

Washington, DC- On April 29th the Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research (CIBR) held its 5th annual Medical Technology Showcase in the Kennedy Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building. The goal for the annual event is to highlight the impact imaging research has on patients, academic research institutions and industry through collaborative imaging technology displays.Participants in this annual event included academic radiology research departments from institutions such as Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and Stanford as well as patient advocacy groups such as the Lung Cancer Alliance, the Power of Pain Foundation and industry partners. Each of the 10 display areas at the event focused on an imaging technology such as CT, with a collaborator from each of the three imaging stakeholders articulating the impact of that technology from research to development to patient care. More than 20 academic research posters were displayed by researchers from academic radiology departments, including 12 from junior investigators that received awards to attend.

The Academy of Radiology Research, the umbrella organization for CIBR and the driver behind legislation which lead to the the creation of the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), presented Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) with an Imaging Research Advocacy Award (an “Academy Award”). Together, Burr and Eshoo have been longstanding supporters of research funding through the NIH, and both spoke about the importance of innovative research in imaging science.

In total, the event was attended by Members of Congress, Congressional staff, program staff from NIH, patient organizations, imaging society leadership and academic radiology research departments.The medical technology showcase followed two full days of meetings with several Institutes at the NIH, such as NIBIB, NCI, NIDDK, NIMH and others, as well as meetings on Capitol Hill where academics, patients and industry met together with more than 50 oces in support of imaging research funding. The goal for these meetings was to highlight the value of imaging research and the value of support for NIH funding in the federal budget process.

The Academy of Radiology Research and the Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research greatly appreciate the support of its partners in advocating for imaging research. For more information on these partnerships, please click here.