Franklin N. Tessler, M.D., C.M., FSRU, FAIUM, professor emeritus of Radiology in the Department of Radiology and senior medical officer for Health System Information Services, has received the 2024 Lawrence A. Mack Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU).

This award is presented yearly to an SRU fellow to recognize a career of outstanding achievement in ultrasound research. Tessler, who joined the UAB faculty in 2002, is a widely-recognized expert in the use of ultrasound to evaluate thyroid nodules, which are found in up to 68 percent of adults. In 2017, an American College of Radiology committee chaired by Tessler published an ultrasound-based algorithm that is extensively used in the United States and beyond to identify the minority of nodules that require biopsy to determine if they are malignant. Since 2018, Tessler has also led an initiative to harmonize thyroid nodule guidelines, recruiting radiologists, endocrinologists, and surgeons from around the world in the effort. He is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, most recently focusing on the use of artificial intelligence to classify thyroid nodules.