people who trained them. You pick up something from everyone who teaches you and it informs your practice. I’ve been lucky to work with people invested in research and mentorship.
But they’ve also given me the sponsorship and courage to strive for things. For a guy like me, who isn’t always sure if I should apply for something or if I deserve it, it helps so much to have a vote of confidence and people telling me I do belong and do deserve. And now I want to pay that forward—and I love academics because I have the opportunity to do so.
AS: Can you talk a little bit about your experience with winning the Gary Becker award? OA: Winning the award was a great motivation to keep going with my research, but also to try different things. I went out on a limb and had success and wanted to do it again. So I underwent the editorial fellowship with the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology and did the RSNA Clinical Trials workshop.
Using these skills and motivation, I’ve since started a randomized controlled trial and am trying to get really focused in my research. I’ve started working toward larger trials and have established partnerships with industry. Recently, I was lucky to be asked to work with Phillips to get approval and clearance for one of their laser devices. It’s been amazing to see things we work with every day get FDA approval and then impact more patients.
AS: You mentioned the editorial fellowship and the clinical trials workshop, and I know you’ve done the SIR leadership academy as well. Can you speak to those experiences? OA: These experiences are a great way to both develop new skills but also meet people like yourself. IR is such a small community—which is one of the reasons I love it—and these opportunities offer a great way to get to know each other better and meet people with the same niche interests.
The JVIR fellowship was amazing because it was very formalized, but also
38 38 IRQ | FALL 20 ALL 2023
very intimate. There were only four of us, and I don’t know if other specialties have programs that intimate. We learned a huge amount in such a small amount of time, and getting involved in a new aspect of research and writing was amazing.
The leadership academy not only gave us access to leaders but taught us how to advance and grow our careers while speaking with people who have already done it. It was a fantastic experience, and it’s very impressive to me that SIR has programs like this.
AS: Those who know you, know you’re very connected and known on social media. Can you speak to the value of utilizing social media as an IR? OA: I sort of fell into social media, but I’m happy for it to be my thing. One of my partners lovingly jokes that I’m not really good at anything, I’m just good at promoting myself on social media—and there’s some small truth to that. Social media is a great way to let people know what you’re working on. I come across so many people doing incredible things, and I always tell them, you have to publish on that or put it on social media so people know! It’s truly a great way to establish yourself and share your cases and papers.
Historically, you would do something neat and publish and hope someone would find the paper you wrote and invite you to a filter talk. Now if you’re always talking about it on social media, people will go, “Oh yeah, he’s the filter guy” and reach out.
Social media has changed the way we consume information, even as physicians. We used to wait for JVIR to come in the mail, but now I follow the feed and read what my friends post.
AS: It’s interesting you mention social media in relation to JVIR, as you’re one of the associate editors. Do you think social media has impacted the peer review process? OA: Social media is fantastic, but it’s also a free for all. You can act like an authority on anything. I feel very, very strongly about peer review and vetting
For more information on the Gary Becker Young Investigators Award, visit
sirfoundation.org
If you are experienced with peer review and would like to contribute to the progress of IR, please volunteer to review manuscripts for JVIR. Email
jvir@sirweb.org.
If you are a resident and seeking editorial and review experience, consider
applying for JVIR’s Editorial Fellowship. Scan the QR code and learn more.
people’s work and opinions. That would sometimes run against my work as the journal’s social media editor—people would tweet cases and tag us, and I couldn’t retweet it from the official account because that case hadn’t been reviewed and vetted.
There’s definitely a need for both—the virtual angio club happening every day on social media, and peer review. IR is still a young specialty, and it’s become obvious that we need to advance the level of evidence we bring to the table. We want to do more procedures and therapies, but the path to that is research—and you need people willing to help validate that research with reviews and expertise.
I’d love to make a brief public plea for anyone interested in peer review to get involved in JVIR. We need a large pool of peer reviewers with varying expertise. So often, you’ll look for someone to review a certain subject and the same small pool of names get pulled every time. So please, get involved and join the JVIR peer reviewing group.
Watch for more lunch and learn events throughout the
year at
sirfoundation.org/Impact/ ir-lunch-and-learn.
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