Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Dr. HC – 2002 Marie Sklodowska - Curie Awardee

Mother, leader, mentor

I consider myself a most fortunate woman. I enjoy my job as Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). It allows me to work with many talented and dedicated people. I can mentor many of the young radiologists, and I take particular pleasure in helping young women develop their careers. I am able to do clinical and translational research with enthusiastic, hardworking colleagues in my subspecialty. The Department is growing much faster than I expected, and it is an invigorating challenge to keep up with the increasing demand for imaging—a national trend. Lately I have become involved in projects related to national policy issues by serving on the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Cancer Institute and chairing the National Academy of Science Committee on Nuclear Medicine. Being on the Board of the RSNA is another exhilarating educational experience. There are so many individuals contributing huge amounts of energy and time for the good of the specialty. The only problem is that, living in New York, I do not like the distance from our son, Peter, who is in San Francisco working for Lucas Films.

Congratulations and happy 25 th birthday, AAWR. Of all the honors that I have been fortunate to receive by working with outstanding individuals at UCSF and MSKCC, the Marie Curie award from the AAWR is closest to my heart, as Marie was a Slav woman who achieved success and family bliss in an adopted country.

Who had the biggest influence on your career?

The biggest influence on my career as a physician-scientist was Dr. William Eyler, who was the editor of Radiology and head of the Department of Radiology at Henry Ford Hospital when I was on the junior faculty there. He taught me that to advance radiology, one should go beyond describing interesting cases and get one's hands dirty in the lab, design protocols, engage in hypothesis-driven research and apply for grants. It was not only highly motivating and educational, but a load of fun.

In those days, protected research time did not exist. I did my laboratory studies at 6 o'clock in the morning before the clinical day started. I still vividly remember Dr. Eyler coming to the reading room to substitute for me—more than once. For my first big scientific presentation at the AUR, Dr. Eyler came with his wife to coach me and support me from the audience. I'll never forget this inspirational beginning for which I am forever grateful.

What would be your most important advice to your junior colleague?

You can achieve whatever you set out to do, but you cannot do everything at the same time. You have to decide on YOUR priorities, and be comfortable with them – understanding their long-term consequences. Don’t try to do it all at once – you will be continuously “haunted” by guilt and will not be a very happy person.

The MSKCC Department of Radiology 2005 Faculty Retreat

"Surviving": From left to right, myself, Alexander R. Margulis—my husband and a great leader and inspiration to all—and Professor Lee from Beijing.

Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Dr. HC is Professor and Carroll & Milton Petrie Chairman of the Department of Radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center