December 14, 2018 — RAD Women (#RADxx), a networking group for the advancement of women in imaging informatics, recently announced the winners of the 2nd annual RADxx Awards. Winners and honorable mentions of the RADxx Trailblazer, Advocate, Champion and Rising Star Awards were unveiled at a cocktail reception sponsored by Ambra Health during the 2018 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, Nov. 25-30 in Chicago.
The outstanding individuals who have helped to lead the way for women in medical imaging informatics are as follows.
RADxx Trailblazer: Nina Kottler, M.D.
Nina Kottler, M.D., is a practicing radiologist and vice president of clinical operations at Radiology Partners (RP). As the first radiologist in this practice, she helped create a deconstructed picture archiving and communication system (PACS) platform that is being used and expanded upon as their practice grows. She also runs RP's internal teleradiology service, serves on RP's Clinical Value Team, AI (artificial intelligence) Committee, and more. She helped to create RP's first machine learning tool, recoMD, a tool that alerts the radiologist to evidence-based best practices and billing conditions before the radiologist signs off on their report. Kottler was elected to serve on:
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The American College of Radiology’s (ACR's) informatics commission (2017-2019);
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The Non-Interpretive Panel for the ACR's Data Science Institute (2018-2019);
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The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM)'s AI Industry Liaison Subcommittee (2018-2019);
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The Radiology Informatics Subcommittee for RSNA's Education Exhibits Committee (2017-2020);
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RSNA's RadLex Steering Committee; and
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The Learning Community in Radiology (2018 – 2019).
Honorable mentions for the Trailblazer category also go out to:
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Dawn Cram: managing partner at the Gordion Knot Group, member of SIIM Board of Directors
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Charlene Tomaselli: director of medical imaging information technology at Johns Hopkins
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Heike Daldrup-Link, M.D., Ph.D.: professor of radiology at Stanford University, specializing in pediatric radiology and pediatric oncology imaging
RADxx Advocate: Nabile Safdar, M.D., MPH
Nabile M. Safdar, M.D., MPH, is the vice chair for imaging informatics and an associate professor at Emory University. He has been a speaker at major professional and scientific conferences and serves on numerous committees at the national level, including the American College of Radiology IT and Informatics Committee, American Board of Radiology IT Advisory Committee, and the American Roentgen Ray Society Research Committee. Safdar has mentored numerous trainees and faculty and, through his leadership of the National Imaging Informatics Curriculum alongside last year's #RADxx award winner Tessa Cook, M.D., Ph.D., is enabling residents across the country and across the world to develop the informatics skills they will need to succeed.
Honorable mentions for the Advocate category also go out to:
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Alex Towbin, M.D.: associate chief of radiology, clinical operations and radiology informatics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
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Marc Kohli, M.D.: director of clinical informatics, associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco
RADxx Champion: Laura Coombs
Laura Coombs is the senior director of informatics and Data Science Institute at the American College of Radiology (ACR). She has a Ph.D. in statistics from Oklahoma State University and has been a key expert in the development of the ACR's registries. Her work in the establishment of the Data Science Institute has been foundational in enabling safe appropriate data science solutions for patients.
Honorable mentions for the Champion category also go out to:
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Amy Kotsenas, M.D.: consultant, Department of Radiology and associate professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic
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Etta Pisano, M.D.: professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and chief science officer for the Center for Research and Innovation of the ACR
Rising Star: Lindsey Shea, M.D., MS
Lindsey Shea, M.D., MS, is a radiology resident at Indiana University who has already distinguished herself as an emerging leader in imaging informatics. She has presented multiple scientific presentations at SIIM and is part of the leadership team of the Resident/Fellow Committee. In addition to her work at SIIM, Shea is part of the ACR Data Science Institute serving on the Non-interpretive Panel and the Reading Room Facing subpanel. Shea's growing influence in informatics is evidenced by her being asked to give a plenary talk at this year’s RSNA on social media and helping to lead an RSNA journal club on machine learning/artificial intelligence. Through her work, Shea has been an advocate for change and improvement through informatics.
Honorable mentions for the Rising Star category also go out to:
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Patricia Balthazar, M.D.: radiology resident at Emory University
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Alyssa Watanabe, M.D.: chief medical officer at CureMetrix
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Dania Daye, M.D., Ph.D.: resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital
"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 Geraldine McGinty, M.D., 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 McGinty to foster networking and mentorship opportunities for women leaders in radiology, informatics and IT management of imaging systems. With over 150 women and men in the group, RADxx seeks to address the underrepresentation of women in imaging informatics. The founding team has expanded into a steering committee for the initiative that includes leading practitioners across radiology and imaging informatics.
For more information: www.radxx.ambrahealth.com
April 25, 2024 
