CHAIRMAN'S OVERVIEW

Jeremy J. Kaye, M.D.
Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass
Professor and Chairman
Radiology and Radiological Sciences

In March 2007, I was appointed as the Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. For the preceeding eight months, I had served as Interim Chairman of the Department; for the prior six years, I had been the Vice-Chairman of the Department. Over the course of my career, I have served in the Department at Vanderbilt a total of 19 years, and I am committed to the success of the Department in its three missions of teaching, research and patient care.

The continued visions of the department are to set the standards of radiological health care, emphasizing high quality, efficient and cost-effective diagnostic medical imaging and imaging-related therapy for the region in which we serve, to train a group of outstanding residents for future practice and to become future leaders in medical imaging, and to advance the field of radiology and radiological sciences by basic, applied and clinical research.

Fifty-nine clinical faculty staff The Vanderbilt Adult Hospital,The Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital, The Vanderbilt Clinic, The Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute, The Vanderbilt Breast Center, and four out-patient Imaging centers (Vanderbilt Hillsboro Imaging, Cool Springs Imaging, The Center for Women’s Imaging, and The Health South Outpatient Diagnostic Center). The faculty is composed of nationally and internationally recognized sub specialists in all fields of radiology, including abdominal, chest, musculoskeletal, GI/GU, pediatrics, neuro radiology, interventional neuro radiology, cardiovascular and interventional radiology, breast, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, position emission tomography, emergency radiology, and network imaging.

The clinical services are assisted by a group of basic scientists in the Section of Radiological Sciences under the direction of Dr. Ron Price who provide the quality assurance basis for high-technology medical imaging modalities. In addition to quality assurance support, this group of physicists, biomedical engineers, radiobiologists, and chemists contribute to basic research in addition to the teaching of the principles of medical imaging to residents, medical students, graduate students, and students in the allied health professions.

The clinical program thrives because of the participation of over 100 certified technologists, many of whom trained at Vanderbilt, and a robust and effective administrative infrastructure. A joint technical and professional billing group manages the billing operations of the department and ensures a seamless process for hospital and physician billings.

The equipment in the Radiology Departments at the Adult and Children’s Hospitals supporting the academic and clinical programs includes six state-of-the-art multi-slice spiral CT scanners, three 1.5T and one 3.0T MRI systems with MR angiography, functional MRI, and MR spectroscopy, seven state-of-the-art color flow Doppler ultrasound systems, four scintillation cameras with SPECT capability and three with SPECT/CT capability, a PET/CT system with cyclotron/laboratory support, four digital angiography suites, three digital fluoro systems, and numerous radiographic, C-arm, and portable x-ray systems. A Picture Archiving and Communication System is interfaced to all modalities in both hospitals and the on-campus clinics eliminating the need for film for radiologist interpretation and providing images to clinics, operating rooms, and physicians offices.

Many describe our residency program as one of the finest in the country by virtue of the quality of the applicants and their preparation and training, their performance on the ABR examinations, and the quality of fellowship and employment opportunities which are routinely available for physicians completing their residency training. This statement is supported by the fact that our residents have been ranked #1 for the past five years based on their performance on the ABR oral examinations. In addition, we offer numerous clinical post-doctoral training opportunities in the department, including ACGME accredited fellowships in diagnostic radiology, neuro radiology, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, and vascular and interventional radiology. Fellowships also exist in body imaging, musculoskeletal radiology, ultrasound, neuro interventional radiology, and women’s imaging.

A major factor in the development of the radiology program at Vanderbilt has been the establishment of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS) under the direction of Dr. John Gore. This is an institutional initiative bringing together a strong faculty of imaging scientists with diverse backgrounds in a comprehensive, integrated program with sophisticated core imaging laboratories dedicated to using imaging to improve health-care and adding knowledge to the biological sciences. A new imaging research building has been competed to house this institute and provide state-of-the-art facilities for imaging research at all scales from small animals to human subjects. (www.vuiis.vanderbilt.edu)

The newest addition to the departmental research enterprise is the establishment of the Center for Molecular Imaging under the direction of Dr. Robert Kessler. The primary goal of this center is the development of new imaging radiopharmaceuticals for cancer imaging and the study of neurotransmitters. Major laboratory renovations are nearing completion to provide a workplace for projects in this center.

Three NIH training grants, two for post-doctoral fellows and one for pre-doctoral graduate students, have been established in the department. With the addition of the VUIIS, the number of basic scientists has grown to thirty-one, and we were ranked #10 in NIH funded grants in 2005.

In continuing medical education, Vanderbilt Radiology has sponsored training programs locally and nationally, including programs in ultrasound, breast imaging, nuclear medicine and PET, and radiologic technology. Many textbooks have been written recently by faculty in our department, including fundamental and popular books in ultrasound, nuclear medicine, PET, magnetic resonance imaging, and medical physics. Our faculty of 59 clinicians and 31 basic scientists are visible in archival literature with dozens of publications each year and all are available to assist in fundamental investigations and the mentoring of medical students, residents, graduate students, and new investigators.

CLINICAL INFORMATION/SCHEDULING

Information on clinical procedures or scheduling of procedures can be obtained by calling the Vanderbilt Radiology scheduling office (615-343-2617).

All best wishes!

Jeremy J. Kaye , M.D.
Professor and Chairman