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The UAB Department of Radiology has appointed Dr. Sam Galgano as section chief of the abdominal imaging section. Dr. Galgano is currently the GI modality chief, director of the abdominal imaging fellowship, and assistant professor for the abdominal imaging section and the division of imaging and therapeutics.

Sam Galgano, M.D., completed his undergraduate and medical school at Emory University in Atlanta. He then completed his residency training in diagnostic radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, during which he served as chief resident in his final year. He completed fellowships in both molecular imaging and therapeutics as well as abdominal imaging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham prior to joining the faculty. During his abdominal imaging fellowship, he was awarded a RSNA Fellow Research Grant for his work on PET/MRI for patients with prostate cancer and participated in the UAB Clinical Investigator Training Program.

The department thanks Dr. Mark Lockhart for his excellent work as abdominal imaging section chief over the last decade. His commitment to our department and our mission is admirable, and we are grateful for his leadership and contributions.

“I appreciate all of the support that I have received in helping our section succeed throughout this decade. It makes it a much easier task when I work with such a great group of leaders. Although it brings with it the uncertainty of change, I feel that Dr. Galgano will do a great job in continuing to advance the area of abdominal imaging in our department,’ said Dr. Lockhart.

Dr. Lockhart’s involvement in Radiology is ongoing. He is currently deputy editor for the Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, a member of the Certifying Exam Ultrasound Committee, and program committee chair for the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound. Perhaps most impactful of all, he serves as the chair of the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria (AC) Committee, in which he oversees 29 panels with 480 physician members responsible for a total of 193 American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria topics, 942 variants, and over 1,680 clinical presentations/scenarios. This committee serves as a “qualified Provider-Led Entity” (qPLE) for decision support being implemented in hospitals throughout the country, and the guidelines fulfill the new Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) requirements.

Dr. Lockhart finalized his third book this year and is currently one of four faculty creating the educational program for the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) fall session and the 2021 annual meeting.

Dr. Lockhart and the department anticipate continued success for the abdominal imaging section with Dr. Sam Galgano as section chief.

The UAB Department of Radiology is thrilled to congratulate Benjamin M. Larimer, Ph.D., on being selected as a recipient of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award!

Managed by the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) Program, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award is an incredibly prestigious award that supports highly innovative and high impact research from exceptionally creative, early career investigators who are within 10 years of their clinical residency or final degree. Dr. Larimer’s award, specifically, will be funded by the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Larimer’s work is focused on using a new imaging agent targeting granzyme B that he developed to help understand which patients with cancer might benefit from immunotherapy. Immunotherapy can be a very powerful therapy in the fight against cancer, delivering long term remissions in some of the most hard to treat cancers. Sadly, however, it does not work for most patients. 

Dr. Larimer, along with colleagues from UAB Radiology and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, will perform the first human studies to test whether granzyme B imaging can predict who will benefit from immunotherapy. These predictions would show which patients will benefit from immunotherapy and which patients need to be treated with a different therapy that is more beneficial to their individual cancer. Additionally, Dr. Larimer will use this test to attempt to find out why some people don’t respond to immunotherapy and develop new treatment strategies that help to increase the response rate.

“I am very thankful to be given this opportunity by the NIH and am lucky to be surrounded by world-class colleagues both in the UAB Department of Radiology and the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center,” said Larimer. “It has been a goal of mine to create something that has an impact on the way cancer treatment is managed, and I am excited to be able to continue working hard to provide patients and oncologists a tool to help in the fight against cancer.” 

The NIH Director’s Awards were established to support unconventional approaches to significant challenges in behavioral and biomedical research. This year, the NIH HRHR Program issued 85 awards totaling roughly $251 million over five years, pending available funds.

“The breadth of innovative science put forth by the 2020 cohort of early career and seasoned investigators is impressive and inspiring," said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “I am confident that their work will propel biomedical and behavioral research and lead to improvements in human health.”

The NIH released their official announcement regarding the High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program award recipients on October 6, 2020. You can view the press release here.

Benjamin M. Larimer, Ph.D., received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri. He then studied at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School for his postdoctoral fellowship, prior to joining the UAB Department of Radiology as an assistant professor in 2019. Dr. Larimer’s research interests focus on the development of new biological imaging agents for characterizing the effectiveness of cancer therapy with a focus on cancer immunotherapy. 

PI: Benjamin M. Larimer, Ph.D.
Project Title: Site-Specific Immune Cell Activation Detection for Improving Individualized Cancer Immunotherapy
Award: NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
Grant Number: DP2 CA261453-01
Funded by the National Cancer Institute

Aparna Singhal, M.D., has been appointed as section chief of Neuroradiology. Dr. Singhal, assistant professor in the neuroradiology imaging section and program director of the neuroradiology fellowship program, accepted the position of interim section chief for Neuroradiology in October 2019. She has accepted the role as section chief as of August 2020.

“She has done a fantastic job leading her team as interim chief,” says Dr. Cheri Canon, Witten-Stanley Endowed Chair of Radiology at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. “I am confident Dr. Singhal will have continued success in this role.”

Dr. Singhal completed her medical school training from Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India, where she received several awards. She then joined UCLA Department of Radiology as a post-doctoral research scholar. Following, she completed her residency training in diagnostic Radiology from St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she was chief resident for two years. Dr. Singhal completed her neuroradiology fellowship training at UAB, where she then joined the faculty in Neuroradiology.

Dr. Singhal is a prolific researcher with several publications and presentations to her credit. She is also a reviewer for journals in various fields of medicine. She was selected for the ‘Introduction to Academic Radiology’ course held at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in 2010 and received the Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award by RSNA in recognition of outstanding radiology research in 2012. She has been the Neuroradiology Fellowship program director at UAB since 2016 and received a teaching award in 2017.

Congratulations to Dr. Singhal on appointment as section chief of Neuroradiology!

The UAB Department of Radiology is excited to welcome Theresa Caridi, M.D., FSIR as the new director of the Division of Interventional Radiology. Dr. Caridi has also taken on the inaugural role of Vice Chair of Interventional Affairs for the department.

Caridi attended medical school at the University of Florida, where she also completed her internship and her residency. She then attended the University of Pennsylvania where she completed her fellowship in Interventional Radiology. Following, Caridi spent seven years at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital as an Assistant Professor of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.

During her time in Georgetown’s Department of Radiology, Caridi also took on the roles of Clerkship Director of Medical Student Rotations and the Director of the IR Medical Student Interest Group. She has extensive experience working with medical students and assisting with related program growth. She now brings her expertise to UAB’s Department of Radiology.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to join UAB IR and UAB Radiology, and I look forward to working together to further enhance the division and the department,” said Dr. Caridi. “I am especially grateful for the warm welcome despite the challenging time of COVID and social distancing.”

Dr. Caridi is dually board certified in Radiology and Interventional Radiology. An active member of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), she is presently serving as Vice Chair of the SIR Foundation Board of Directors. Upon completing her term, she will serve a graduated role as Chair of the Foundation Board of Directors. Dr. Caridi is an active editorial board member and reviewer for premiere medical journals within her specialty. She is an experienced lecturer and has had multiple research articles published.

“I am thrilled to have such a strong leader join UAB Radiology and the leadership team," said Dr. Cheri Canon, Witten-Stanley Endowed Chair of Radiology at UAB Heersink School of Medicine. "Dr. Caridi has an exciting vision for UAB Interventional, and I am confident she will lead the team to success.”

Caridi’s care includes the full spectrum of Interventional Radiology and, along with her team, she strives to provide treatment for her patients in the same manner she would want for her own family members.

On Thursday, July 16, the Radiology Department presented its Top Faculty Teaching Awards for Excellence in Resident Education for the months of January 2020 through June 2020. These awards were determined by the average of faculty evaluation scores completed by residents along with top-scoring faculty vote on by residents.

The award recognition took place during a department-wide Zoom call to ensure social distancing among employees.

We would like to congratulate the following ten faculty members:

Top Faculty Teaching Awards for Excellence in Resident Education

Gagandeep Choudhary, M.D.

Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics

“I love working with Dr. Choudhary. He’s got a contagious enthusiasm, and he’s a wonderful teacher.”

Samuel Galgano, M.D.

Abdominal Imaging

“Wonderful teacher and company, always have a great day and learn a ton with Dr. Galgano. Five stars!”

Constantine M. Burgan, M.D.

Abdominal Imaging

“Dr. Burgan is an excellent teacher. He shares interesting cases and provides helpful criticism. Clearly dedicated to residents..”

Siddhartha Gaddamanugu, M.D.

VAMC

“Emphasizes resident education everyday which is very appreciated!! I feel like I learn something every single time I work with Dr. Sid!”

Desmin Milner, M.D.

MSK Emergency Department

“Dr. Milner is my favorite evening attending. She regularly teaches, is approachable, and helps out with the list! She sets the bar for what a call attending should be.”

Jessica Zarzour, M.D.

Abdominal Imaging

“Even as a program director, Dr. Zarzour goes above and beyond and out of her way to make sure that every trainee has the most meaningful educational experience possible. Constantly dedicated to the residents’ educational well being.”

Andrew Smith, M.D., Ph.D.

Abdominal Imaging

“Dr. Smith is high energy and this positively motivates residents to learn and question as much as possible while working with him. He is always a pleasure to be around.”

J. Kevin Smith M.D., Ph.D.

VAMC

“Dr. Smith is obviously dedicated to resident education and is a great resident resource at the VA.”

Nelson Matos-Ruiz, M.D.

MSK Emergency Department

“Dr. Matos is a fantastic teacher and makes the reading room a fun and engaging environment.”

Desiree Morgan, M.D.

Abdominal Imaging

“Always a pleasure to work with Dr. Morgan. She is a great teacher and introduced me well to the world of body MR. She is a great example in the department of hard work, enthusiasm, and teaching.”

Mark Lockhart, M.D., M.P.H.

Abdominal Imaging

“Dr. Lockhart is a devoted teacher who challenges us and pushes us to excel.” “Always works hard and supports others.”

Houman Sotoudeh, M.D., Ph.D.

Neuroradiology

“Dr. Sotoudeh shows dedication to resident education by providing prompt feedback regarding pertinent/missed findings and discussing high yield teaching points.”

Jonathan McConathy, M.D., Ph.D.

Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics

“Great teacher, very knowledgeable. Particularly enjoy his case conferences and core review oriented powerpoints.”

Scott Grumley, M.D.

Cardiopulmonary

“A great mentor in the radiology room and outside of the field of radiology.” “Always goes the extra mile to teach residents!”

Rakesh Varma, M.D.

Interventional Radiology

“Dr. Varma is one of the most integral members of the IR department. His technical skill amazes him, but I am more impressed by his kindness and ability to teach residents and fellows how to be better doctors.”

On Friday, June 5th, UAB Radiology held its 6th annual READY Event, where the department recognized its 2020 graduates as well as various residents, fellows, and faculty for multiple awards. While normally this celebration takes place in person, it was held via Zoom this year to abide by social distancing.

You can view a detailed listing of those who were recognized below.

Congratulations to the following:

Fellowships & Physics Residency Graduates

Abdominal Imaging Fellows

Zachary Clark, MD
Zach will be joining our Emergency Radiology section as faculty next year.



Luke Lennard, MD 
Luke will be raveling to Amarillo, Texas, to work in private practice. 



Corey Sivils, MD
Corey will be staying with the department as an Instructor in Abdominal Imaging next year.

Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellow

Padma Manapragada, MD
Padma will be joining the department as faculty in the Cardiothoracic and MIT sections.

Interventional Radiology Fellows

Brenten Heeke, MD
Brent will be joining Montgomery Radiology Associates.



Vistasp "Jimmy" Daruwalla, MD
Jimmy will be joining a private practice group in Laurel, Mississippi.



Geh Meh Chu, MBBS
Geh will be joining Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus in Dover, Delaware.



Benjamin Snead, MD
Ben will be joining a private practice here in Birmingham, Alabama.

Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellows

Rachel Bass, MD
Rachel will be joining the department as faculty in the Musculoskeletal section next year.


Daniel D. Droukas, MD
Daniel will be joining Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.


Margie "Joanne" Hill, DO
Joann will be joining the Emergency Radiology section as faculty in July.



Brandon M. Phillips, MD
Brandon will be moving into a faculty position in the department with our Emergency Radiology section.


Miles L. Ritter, MD
Miles will be joining Radiology Associates, P.A. in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Neuroradiology Fellows

J. Thomas Nelson, Jr., MD 
Thomas will be staying in Birmingham, Alabama, and joining Medical West in Bessemer.


David M. Obert, MD
David will be joining Radiology Group, P.A. in Decatur, Alabama.



Andrew Sneed, MD
Andrew will be joining Sumner Radiology in Gallatin, Tennessee.



Cody B. Smith, MD
Cody will be joining the faculty at the VAMC in Birmingham, Alabama.

Pediatric Radiology Fellow

Alana B. Thornton, MD
Alana will be staying on as faculty at Children's of Alabama with Pediatric Radiology Associates.

Breast Imaging Fellow

Brittany Hermecz, MD
Brittany will be staying with the department as Instructor in the Breast Imaging section.

Medical Physics Resident

Robert "Cole" Boggs, PhD
Cole will be staying with the department as faculty in our Medical Physics & Engineering Division.

Awards & Recognition

Faculty Recognition

Years of Service in Medical Student Education
Michelle McNamara, MD




Years of Service as Chest Fellowship Director 
Satinder Singh, MD



Years of Service as Abdominal Fellowship Director 
John V. Thomas, MD

Resident Awards

Abdominal Imaging Resident Award
Adam Jacobs, MD



Breast Imaging Resident Award 
Juan Guerrero-Calderon, MD



Cardiac Radiology Resident Award 
Alex McFarland, MD



Thoracic Radiology Resident Award 
Aaron Coleman, MD



Emergency Radiology Resident Award 
*1st Call*
Justin Watts, MD


Emergency Radiology Resident Award
*2nd Call*
Craig Millar, MD


Interventional Radiology Resident Award 
Eric Bready, MD



Molecular Imaging & Therapeutics Resident Award 
J. Ryne Black, MD



Musculoskeletal Radiology Resident Award
J. Paul Cook, MD



Neuroradiology Resident Award 
Noah McGill, MD



Physics Resident Award 
Harshang Patel, MD



VA Radiology Resident Awards
Harshang Patel, MD
Eric Bready, MD

Medical Student Lecturer Awards

Outstanding Resident Lecturer for Medical Students
Ahmed "Zuka" Amer, MD



Outstanding Faculty Lecturer for Medical Students
Sam Galgano, MD

Resident Research Award

RSNA Research Award
Joel Raborn, MD

Outstanding Fellow Award

Outstanding Fellow Award
Andrew Sneed, MD

Faculty Teaching Awards

Chicago Deep Dish Award:
Best Board Reviewer
Mark Lockhart, MD



Gary T. Barnes Award: 
Outstanding Faculty
Sid Gaddamanugu, MD

Excellence in Patient Care Award

Pitt-Bernreuter Resident Award for Excellent Patient Care
Joel Raborn, MD

Outstanding Fellow Award

Outstanding Fellow Award
Andrew Sneed, MD

Chief Resident Certificates

DR Chief Residents
Dr. Noah McGill
Dr. Daniel Childers



IR Chief Resident 
Dr. Joel Raborn

Resident Graduates

Daniel Childers, MD | Chief Resident
Daniel will be completing his Body Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.


Brittany Hermecz, MD | Resident
Brittany completed her Accelerated Breast Fellowship during her senior year of residency and will join UAB as a junior faculty in Breast.


Noah McGill, MD | Chief Resident
Noah completed 7 months of specialized neuroradiology training during hiasenior year of residency and plans to go into private practice in Louisiana.


Christabell Ndibe, MD | Resident
Christabell will be completing her Pediatric fellowship at Children’s of Atlanta.



Harshang Patel, MD | Resident
Harshang will be completing his Neuro Fellowship at UAB.



Joel Raborn, MD | IR Chief Resident
Joel completed an Early Specialization in Interventional Radiology and will stay at UAB to complete his independent IR residency next year.


Corey Sivils, MD | Resident
Corey completed his Accelerated Abdominal Imaging Fellowship during his senior year of residency and will join UAB as a junior faculty.


David Summerlin, MD | Resident
David will complete his Body Imaging Fellowship at Johns Hopkins.

Cheri L. Canon, M.D., professor and chair, and Witten-Stanley Endowed Chair of Radiology in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, has been elected to the position of president of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD). She is the second woman to hold the position.

“It is an honor to work alongside my radiology chair colleagues who have selflessly provided guidance and mentorship over the last 10 years. As the second woman president, I hope to serve as a role model for women radiologists, residents, and medical students. We need to continue to increase diversity and are more likely to do so with women and URM in leadership roles,” Canon said.

Canon joined SCARD over ten years ago when she was named interim chair, before she was appointed chair of the Department of Radiology. SCARD is a nonprofit organization that promotes research and patient care, medical education, development of teaching methods, and discussion among chairpersons of radiology departments to continue advancing the art and science of radiology. Her transition to president was set to take place at the 68th Annual AUR Meeting in Philadelphia last month, but due to circumstances of COVID-19, the transition took place virtually. As president, she will serve in this role for two years, chair the board, and oversee its strategic and fiscal responsibilities. Being the second woman president, however, adds a special distinction.

“We need to normalize women in leadership positions,” said Canon. “This is particularly important in radiology, where only 25% of residents and even fewer practicing radiologists are women. We have not significantly increased the number of women residents in radiology in over a decade and less than 20% of radiology chair positions are held by women.” These statistics were one of the motivating factors behind Dr. Canon founding LEAD. Leading, Empowering, and Disrupting, otherwise known as LEAD, is a women’s leadership program that was created through a partnership between SCARD and GE Healthcare. According to its mission statement, “LEAD is uniting and empowering women from both academia and industry to elevate their role in leadership and to advocate for current and future women leaders through education, mentorship and dialogue.” The organization is in its second year and hopes to increase its membership of women chairs. Canon shared that her vision for LEAD is “to strive for a world where LEAD is no longer needed”.

Congratulations to Dr. Cheri Canon on this new position and for continuing to promote women in leadership.

14 Awarded COVID-19 research grants 

The School of Medicine has partnered with the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute to fund 14 Principal Investigators an award to study various implications of COVID-19. Part of the funds, $350,000, were philanthropic gifts to the School of Medicine, and another $300,000 was funded by the Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute. The average award was $46,000. There was a tremendous response to the RFA, with over 50 applications.

Benjamin Larimer, PhD
Department of Radiology
Title: Development of a Rapid and Scalable COVID-19 Antibody Epitope Mapping Platform by Phage Display

The Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research showcased Dr. Anna Sorace as this week’s #ImagingInnovator for her recent successes, receiving an R01.
Congratulations Dr. Sorace, and thank you for your continued work!

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