Supporting Diversity in Radiology and Informatics During RSNA19

RADxx is dedicated to improving diversity and inclusion in radiology and informatics and were thrilled to celebrate the winners of our 3rd Annual RADxx Awards during RSNA19.

The outstanding individuals who have helped to lead the way for women in medical imaging informatics are as follows.

RADxx Trailblazer: Charlene Tomaselli 

• Charlene is currently the Director of Medical Imaging Information Technology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. As the director of medical imaging information technology, Charlene manages a team that implements and supports all the radiology applications that are used in radiology for five hospitals and four freestanding imaging centers.

RADxx Advocate: Dr. Anant Madabhushi

• Dr. Anant Madabhushi is Director of the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics (CCIPD); F. Alex Nason Professor II, Department of Biomedical Engineering; and on faculty in the Departments of Pathology, Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Urology, General Medical Sciences, and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Case Western Reserve University.

RADxx Champion: Dr. Agnieszka Solberg

• Dr. Solberg is a Vascular and Interventional radiologist who passionately advocates for women, particularly women in radiology/informatics. Having served 14 years in the US Army, she continues to serve others by creating a group for over 3,000 women radiologists and providing them with valuable resources to navigate through the struggles of being a woman in a male-dominant field. Board-certified by the ABIM, ABNM, and ABR, she actively practices as an Interventional Radiologist and Clinical Assistant Professor at UND.

Rising Star: Michelle Bardis 

• As a former NASA electrical engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Michelle is using her mathematical and programming skills to analyze a new type of data – medical images. Her signal processing skills are now being used to solve problems looking at matrices that represent anatomical data instead of space communication data. She plans to build her medical knowledge as a radiology resident and combines it with her technical skills for developing better tools for medical image analysis. She envisions that AI will transform radiology, and her eventual goal is to become a principal investigator and leader in this specialty.

“The level of talent among this year’s RADxx nominations was truly inspiring. The RADxx movement is helping to make our profession more diverse and inclusive,” said Dr. Geraldine McGinty, Co-Founder of RADxx.

The RADxx Awards recognize the achievements of women in the field of medical imaging informatics, as well as anyone— both men and women— who have supported the career advancement of women in medical imaging informatics. Informatics is a fast-growing discipline within healthcare as new technology and increased amounts of patient data converge. Applying that practice to medical imaging requires additional expertise that bridges the gap between patient care, physician workflow, imaging operations, and technology solutions. Award winners were selected by the RADxx executive committee from eligible submissions.

RADxx is an initiative sponsored by Ambra Health and founded in 2016 by industry leader Dr. Geraldine McGinty (@DrGMcGinty) to foster networking and mentorship opportunities for women leaders in radiology, informatics, and IT management of imaging systems. The RADxx Awards were launched three years ago at the annual RSNA conference and met with an overwhelming amount of highly qualified nominations. The goal of the new RADxx Speakers Bureau, curated by the steering committee, is to promote more diversity in meeting and conference agendas. To become a member of RADxx, visit the resource center here.