As part of the Academy of Radiology Research Academic Council Legislative Forum, ARRAC and CIBR sponsored a Capitol Hill Legislative Briefing titled “Cutting Edge Academic Radiology Research”. The briefing featured four presentations on research supported by the NIH performed at academic Radiology centers and the associated improvements in patient care.
The briefing began with a presentation by Steven Seltzer, MD, Chair, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who spoke about “The Revolution in Image Guided Therapy”. Dr. Seltzer gave examples of how MR-guided procedures were a “game changer” in improving patient care. Carolyn Meltzer, MD, Chair, Department of Radiology, Emory University, addressed “Changing the Course of Alzheimer’s through Imaging”. She discussed how the ability to detect brain amyloid “plaques” with a brain scan could lead to disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s.
Valerie Jackson, MD, Chair, Department of Radiology, Indiana University, gave an overview of “Research Translated to Clinical Practice: Breast Cancer Screening”. She compared the differences between early scans for breast cancer and recent developments; the improvement was obvious even to non-physicians. These improvements lead to earlier detection of breast cancer cases, saving lives. William Bradley, Jr, MD, PhD, Chair, Department of Radiology, University of California San Diego, presented “New Applications for MRI”. When he asked who had received an MRI, over half the attendees raised their hand, demonstrating the ubiquity of the procedure.
The attendees at the briefing included Congressional staffers, patient advocacy representatives, and NIH staff, including the director of the NIBIB, Roderic Pettigrew, PhD, MD. After the briefing many of the attendees stayed for extensive discussions with the speakers and other Radiology Department chairs who were attending the Legislative Forum.
