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AAWR AWARD WINNERS

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE AWARD

Shadi A. Esfahani, MD, MPH
Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School

The President's Award is presented to a member who has made outstanding contributions to AAWR during the president's term. The 2021 recipient of this prestigious award is Dr. Shadi Esfahani.

Nuclear radiologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School 

    • Research Faculty, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH
    • Member, AAWR Executive Committee 
    • Co-Chair, Diagnostic Radiology, AAWR Member-In-Training Committee 
    • Previous Chair, AAWR-MIT Speed mentoring Subcommittee 
    • Upcoming AAWR Member-at-Large for Nuclear Medicine 


Carolyn C. Meltzer, MD, FAAWR, FACR
Chair of Radiology and Imaging Sciences
Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership, and Inclusion
Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Meltzer is a scholar, mentor, and influential role model who has furthered the advancement of women and under-represented colleagues in medicine and science throughout her career. 

In her roles as Chair of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership, and Inclusion at Emory School of Medicine, Dr. Meltzer developed a framework that embraced a holistic view of the academic workforce. Reflective of her commitment to inclusion as a foundation of organizational effectiveness, Dr. Meltzer has spoken broadly on leading culture change, communication strategies, and workforce planning. She served as the inaugural chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Radiological Society of North America, Chair of the Leadership Workgroup for the American College of Radiology Commission for Women and Diversity, and member of the steering committee of the AAMC Group on Women in Medicine and Science. 

She is the 2021 recipient of the American Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award for her work on implicit bias. Also in 2021 Dr. Meltzer was honored as a Fellow of AAWR.

On March 1, 2022, Dr. Meltzer will assume the position of Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
ALICE ETTINGER DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

LUCKY FRANK SQUIRE DISTINGUISHED RESIDENT AWARD IN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY

Quynh-Thu Le, MD, FAAWR, FACR, FASTRO
Chair, Radiation Oncology Department
Stanford University School of Medicine

Quynh-Thu Le, MD received her medical school and radiation oncology training at University of California, San Francisco. In 1997, she joined Stanford University, where she holds the Katharine Dexter McCormick & Stanley Memorial Professorship and is Chair of the Radiation Oncology Department.

 Her research focuses on translating laboratory findings to the clinic and vice versa in head and neck cancer (HNC), specifically in tumor hypoxia, Galectin-1, and salivary gland stem cells. 

Clinically, she has led multicenter phase II and III clinical trials, testing the addition of novel drugs as radiosensitizer or radioprotector with chemoradiotherapy in HNC. She has received grant support from ASCO, ASTRO, as well as R01 and R21 grants from the NIH. She was inducted into the Fellowship of the American College of Radiology (FACR), the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (FASTRO), and the Institute of Medicine/National Academy of Medicine (IOM/NAM). She was also honored with the Caltech Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

Administratively, she is the Co-Director of the Radiation Biology Program at the Stanford Cancer Institute and the RTOG Chair of NRG Oncology. She has served as a reviewer for several cancer related journals and NIH study sections. She has also been actively involved in many committees of national and international organizations such as ASTRO, ASCO, AACR, and ARS.

Kaitlin Zaki-Metias, MD
Diagnostic Radiology Resident
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital

Kaitlin Zaki-Metias, MD is currently in her third year of training as a Diagnostic Radiology resident at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada) and her medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine (Grenada, West Indies).

Dr. Zaki-Metias currently holds positions on the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) Referral Guidelines working group, the Computed Tomography Accreditation Program working group, and the Equity Diversity and Inclusion working group where she is an active member of the Encouraging Radiology Application Committee. She has also recently taken on the role of resident lead for the CAR Medical Student Network Radiology Lectures Subcommittee. Additionally, Dr. Zaki-Metias undertook the development of a general radiology curriculum for medical students at the University of Manitoba, and for rotating students and residents in the radiology department at her institution.

Dr. Zaki-Metias is active in research, particularly in quality improvement. Her primary interests include factors influencing gender and racial discrepancies in radiology, and the reporting of breast arterial calcifications to improve the value of mammography. She has published multiple peer-reviewed papers and has presented at regional, national, and international meetings since beginning her residency. 

Recently, she was selected as a participant in the 2021 RSNA/AUR/ARRS Introduction to Academic Radiology Program. Dr. Zaki-Metias intends to pursue fellowship training in Women's Imaging upon completion of her residency.


ELEANOR MONTAGUE DISTINGUISHED RESIDENT AWARD IN RADIATION ONCOLOGY

ASTRO MIT OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION AWARD

Idalid "Ivy" Franco, MD, MPH
Chief Resident
Harvard Medical School Radiation Oncology Program 

Dr. Idalid “Ivy” Franco, MD, MPH, is a chief resident at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and was awarded a competitive Zuckerman Fellowship, through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, to obtain a Master’s in Public Health in Management and Policy with a concentration in healthcare leadership at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.  

Her desire to improve care for marginalized communities is driven by her early experiences as a first-generation Mexican-American immigrant. She has a strong commitment and passion to serve her patients, community, and profession through her clinical and academic work in radiation oncology and health equity leadership and research.  

She is passionate about improving health equity through workforce diversity and community engagement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as a member of the Spanish Language Care Group, providing linguistic, cultural, and contextual support for Spanish speaking patients with COVID-19, their families and care teams. 

She is co-creator and director of RISE (Radiation oncology Intensive Shadowing Experience), a virtual radiation oncology experience for senior year medical students from groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine. In the first year 14 students completed the program, 43% were initially interested in applying into radiation oncology, with 50% matching into stellar programs. 

On a national level she is committed to addressing the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender. She is the first Latina to form part of the Executive Committee of the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO), and is Chair and Co-Founder of the ARRO Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee. Initiatives include a mentorship program, multiple publications on workforce diversity, and creating opportunities for committee members to obtain experience and exposure to leadership within radiation oncology.

Amishi Bajaj, MDResident, Radiation Oncology
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Dr. Bajaj was raised in Oak Brook, Illinois and attended boarding school at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy before completing her undergraduate studies at the University of Chicago, where she majored in Psychology and graduated with Honors. She then enrolled in The Chicago Medical School and spent a year during medical school completing research in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Loyola University Medical Center, thereby graduating with an MD with Distinction in Research.

She went on to complete her internship training at the Presence St. Francis Hospital Transitional Year program in Evanston, Illinois, and she is now a radiation oncology resident at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Bajaj is passionate about women’s health, novel imaging techniques, patient safety, quality improvement, mentorship, multidisciplinary collaboration, and all research initiatives that strive to meaningfully improve clinical practice.

 


RSNA MIT OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION AWARD

Aylin Tahmasebi, MD
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Aylin Tahmasebi, MD, is a physician and researcher from Iran. She has lived in countries spanning four continents in pursuit of her medical education and clinical experiences. She moved to the United States in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow to continue her research at Thomas Jefferson University. She served in some of the world’s most remote areas with limited healthcare access. 

Dr. Tahmasebi has been involved in both clinical and preclinical research and has presented her work at many international conferences. She is a peer reviewer and editorial board member for several journals. She is passionate about gender equality in the healthcare industry. 

Her current research focus is on the application of Artificial Intelligence in Radiology, women's imaging, ultrasound Elastography, and Microbubble contrast.


AMC Early Career Award

Nanda Thimmappa, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology, Medical Director of Ultrasound, Associate Program Director of Radiology Residency Program
University of Missouri

Dr. Thimmappa is Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology, Medical Director of Ultrasound, and Associate Program Director of Radiology Residency Program at University of Missouri, Columbia (Mizzou). She obtained fellowship training in Body Imaging and Body MRI at Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York. As faculty at Mizzou, she established Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound service and introduced iMorgan software for ultrasound reporting, which resulted in improved workflow. Dr. Thimmappa’s research and teaching interests include US and MRI imaging modalities, particularly in the areas of contrast enhanced ultrasound and Liver MRI.


Dr. Thimmappa represents the Body Imaging section at the Radiology Education committee, and is Radiology representative to the University of Missouri School of Medicine Faculty Affairs Council. She serves as lead facilitator of Annual Mistreatment Awareness Training for the Department of Radiology. Dr. Thimmappa leads a case-based peer-learning program for the Department of Radiology. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Missouri Radiology Society – the Missouri Chapter of ACR.


Women in Neurology Leadership Award

Lubdha Shah, MD, MS
Professor of Radiology
Director of Spine Imaging and Clinical Functional MRI 
The University of Utah

Dr. Shah is Professor of Radiology and the Director of Spine Imaging and Clinical Functional MRI at the University of Utah. Her research focus has been in advanced imaging techniques of the spine and spinal cord with various collaborations with the MR physicists and engineers at the Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research as well as Neurosurgery and Neurology clinical colleagues.

Her current research efforts are in developing and evaluating non-invasive focused ultrasound modalities for the treatment of spine pain. Dr. Shah’s research interests also include functional MRI, and she has collaborated on fMRI publications and co-authored a book on clinical fMRI, Specialty Imaging: Functional MRI.



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