An “Extreme IR” watch party at The University of Virginia Hospital. Courtesy of Mohammad Halaibeh, MD.


WHO, WHAT, WHERE: SIR Gold Medalists Each year, SIR Today salutes the Gold Medalists with a look at their outstanding careers, asking them to describe an important person, place or thing that shaped his or her life and career.


2021 Gold Medalists • Michael Darcy, MD, FSIR • David Sacks, MD, FSIR • Richard Towbin, MD, FSIR bit.ly/2Mp5c2H


2020 Gold Medalists • James F. Benenati, MD, FSIR • Michael C. Soulen, MD, FSIR • David M. Williams, MD, FSIR bit.ly/3vSxjsV


Abstracts of the Year In “Radiofrequency ablation for the palliative treatment of osseous metastases: Final results from a multicenter study (OPuS One),” Jason R. Levy, MD, presented the findings of a 3-year study on the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a palliative treatment to provide pain relief in cancer patients with metastatic bone lesions. “A few weeks represents a large portion of the remaining life in these patients,” said Dr. Levy, the lead researcher on the study. “RFA may be able to give them the best quality of life


26 IRQ | SPRING 2021


possible in the time they have left.” bit.ly/2UtKsK7


In “Y90 Radioembolization to the Prostate Gland: Proof of Concept in a Canine Model and Clinical Translation,” Samdeep Mouli, MD, MS (who also received the 2021 Gary Becker Young Investigator Award for this abstract) presented on the feasibility and safety of prostate artery radioembolization in a canine model in advance of human application. According to Dr. Mouli, “Patients are essentially faced with a difficult choice between oncologic efficacy and preserving gastrointestinal, urinary and sexual function. Unfortunately, up to 60% of men regret their treatment choices.” bit.ly/38TaWtI


David M. Williams, MD, FSIR, is presented with his Gold Medal at Michigan Medicine. Courtesy of Daniel Kirkpatrick, MD.


Frederick S. Keller, MD, Philanthropy Award Before SIR 2021, SIR Today spoke with 2021 Frederick S. Keller, MD, Philanthropy Award recipient and GEMS founder Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, FSIR, about the importance of supporting the SIR Foundation, and how to advocate for IR and where he thinks the field should go next: “Our specialty has begun to understand that if we want to keep IR vibrant and exciting, we need to engage more medical students, particularly students from more ethnically and socially diverse backgrounds.” bit.ly/3qLNx3v


Leaders in Innovation Award SIR Today spoke with 2021 Leaders in Innovation Award recipient Andrew H. Cragg, MD, FSIR, about the future of IR and what innovation looks like to him: “When I began my career, most of the tools and techniques we now take for granted had not yet been developed. I was fortunate to be able to contribute some ideas in the efforts to develop self-expanding stents, aortic endografts and embolization devices. Along the way, I have been able to extend minimally invasive IR concepts to other conditions such as spine disease, obesity and sleep apnea.” bit.ly/3lrJsjC


SIR Foundation Research Awards SIR Foundation is dedicated to advancing the clinical needs of interventional radiology by specializing in developing investigators trained in conducting basic and clinical trials research, which provides the foundation for innovative therapies delivered through image-guided techniques. The foundation expands the innovative field of interventional radiology through research that contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge; training of skilled investigators; and development of new devices, better medications and enhanced procedures. Every year SIR Foundation’s award program recognizes outstanding achievements in research and innovation. View the list of 2020 and 2021 research award winners at bit.ly/3r5gxDe.


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