TAMPA, Fla. (March 15, 2010)—Michael C. Soulen, M.D., FSIR, delivered the 2010 Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture at the Society of Interventional Radiology's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, Fla. This lecture honor, supported by SIR Foundation, acknowledges an interventional radiologist's extraordinary contributions to the field, dedicated service to SIR and distinguished career achievements in interventional radiology.
Soulen, who addressed "IR: Generations," is professor of radiology and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. "It is an overwhelming honor to be selected to present the prestigious Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture," said Soulen, who holds staff appointments at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center.
Soulen was selected by SIR President Brian F. Stainken, M.D., FSIR, to be the recipient of the 26th annual Dotter lecture, which honors one of the founding fathers of interventional radiology. "The concept and promise of interventional oncology owes much to the focus and talent of interventional radiologists like Michael Soulen. He is among the few who have the discipline, talent and interest to take a then-novel procedure like transarterial chemoembolization in the 1980s, refine the approach and use it as a springboard to develop a new clinical subspecialty discipline: interventional oncology," said Stainken. "His is a seminal contribution; when we say that interventional radiology has changed medicine, we are harvesting the benefits of the work of people like Dr. Soulen," he added.
Much of Soulen's career has been devoted to research in interventional radiology, having received grants for 20 different research projects. An active member SIR, he has served on the Executive Council and was chair of the 1999 Annual Scientific Meeting. He also served as the practice and professional affairs councilor and was a member on the CME and Council Advisory committees. From 2004, Soulen served as the SIR Foundation board director of research education. He is an editorial board member and/or reviewer for numerous publications, including the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. He has published nearly100 peer-reviewed articles and more than 50 editorials, chapters and invited manuscripts.
2010 Leaders in Innovation Award
Julio C. Palmaz, M.D., FSIR, Ashbel Smith Tenured Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, is the recipient of the 2010 Leaders in Innovation Award. This award recognizes an individual who has conceptualized and implemented an idea that has had an impact on the practice of interventional radiology.
Palmaz, who holds 40 issued patents, conceived and developed the first clinically successful balloon expandable vascular stent in the early 1980s. His initial device was used for the first successful abdominal aortic stent-grafts and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, now also common procedures throughout the world. This device has found applications beyond the arterial system, including veins (peripheral, central and pulmonary), the biliary ducts and the tracheobronchial tree. As such, it has become part of the standard armamentarium of a broad spectrum of medical specialties.
Palmaz, the author of 29 books or book chapters and 106 peer-reviewed publications, has remained very active in basic research, with specific interest and productivity in the area of cellular and molecular response to intravascular metallic stent placement. He was also instrumental in the design and execution of early clinical trials in the application of stents in coronary, renal and iliac arteries. These trials became benchmarks for subsequent clinical investigations of metallic stents. For two years in a row, his patent on the balloon-expandable stent was recognized as one of the "ten patents that changed the world," published in Intellectual Property International magazine. His early stent research artifacts are now part of the medical collection of the Smithsonian Institutions. He continues to innovate on his initial designs, developing new endovascular devices.
Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award
Erik Cressman, Ph.D., M.D., University of Minnesota Medical School, Lake Elmo, Minn., is the recipient of the 2010 Dr. Gary J. Becker Young Investigator Award. This award promotes excellence in academic research for members early in their careers and honors the founding editor of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology by recognizing the importance of the young investigator in developing interventional solutions for the future. Cressman's manuscript, "A New Heat Source for Thermochemical Ablation Based on Redox Chemistry: Initial Studies Using Permanganate," was chosen as this year's most outstanding clinical science research paper.
Cressman, who joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 2005, received an SIR Foundation Ernest J. Ring Faculty Development Award and since then has obtained funding from the National Institutes of Health for further work in the area of thermochemical ablation as a new means to treat solid tumors such as liver cancer.
Resident/Fellow Research Award
Anjita Deodhar, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y., received the Resident/Fellow Research Award for her study, "Irreversible Electroporation in Swine Kidney: Radiological-pathological Correlation." This award, which recognizes high-quality research by trainees, provides radiology residents and interventional radiology fellows an opportunity to attend and present their scientific research at SIR's Annual Scientific Meeting.
Dr. Constantin Cope Medical Student Research Award
Three medical students received the Dr. Constantin Cope Medical Student Research Award, which recognizes high-quality research presented at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting by medical students. Award recipients include
- Stephanie Carr, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif., "Common Iliac Vein Diameter and Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis";
- Waleed Brinjikji, Mayo Clinic/Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minn., "Did Patients With Severe Pain Improve in INVEST?"; and
- Aaron Eifler, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill., "Image-guided Nanoembolization as a Novel Local Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Feasibility in an Animal Model."
For more information about these awards or to learn more about the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation, visit online at www.SIRFoundation.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. Visit www.SIRFoundation.org.
The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting March 13 in Tampa, Fla. The theme of the meeting is "IR Innovation," celebrating the remarkable inventiveness of SIR members and highlighting the contribution made to both creating the field of interventional radiology and to improving patient care.