As I got older, my dad brought me to Philly Angio Club meetings, RSNA and then eventually SCVIR.


What made you choose IR? NH: I started out as an internal medicine resident, and I dabbled in emergency medicine. Radiology was cool but IR (special procedures, as we called it then) was even cooler. There were new and fascinating procedures, along with imaging PLUS patient care!


What excites you about the future of IR? NH: I have lived through IR’s ups, downs and re-ups. We have proven that we are resourceful. We use our imaging smarts to help create new techniques, procedures and tools to treat our patients in a caring, efficient and effective way. I absolutely loved caring for patients over the years and watching families grow. It is the best satisfaction I can think of. Today, as in the beginning, IR has some hard questions to answer. What do we want to be? How strongly are we willing to fight to become that?


“I did my fellowship at Tufts Medical Center at a time where fellows took calls by themselves at some point. I remember calling my father in the middle of the night asking for a consult!”


—Neil Halin, DO, FSIR


Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, and Ahmad Atassi, MD Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, is a PGY-5 diagnostic radiology resident at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences


(UAMS). He is a co-chair of the Resident Advocacy Subcommittee for SIR’s Government Affairs Committee. His father, Ahmad Atassi, MD, received his medical degree from the University of


34 IRQ | SPRING 2025


Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, and Ahmad Atassi, MD


Damascus in Syria and has since studied and practiced interventional radiology in Canada, the United States and Saudi Arabia. He currently works for the Associated Medical Professionals of NY in Syracuse.


What was it like growing up in an IR household? Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD: Growing up, I remember my dad was around most evenings. He prioritized spending time with us while at the same time dedicating himself to treating his patients. He’d bring work home with him just so we could see him. I remember him putting up a series of different imaging slides on the projector to review, and I admired his dedication, yet always appreciated his availability. As I grew older, he could see the spark in my eyes toward the field, and so he would talk to me about cool cases he’d done. He’d bring back expired devices all the time to show me how they work and how and when to use them. That harbored my interest in IR and helped it grow with me even more. I remember his sleepless call nights and how it took a toll on him at times, but his smile never left his face no matter how tired he was. That helped me realize how dedicated he was, and more importantly, how helping people is one of the most noble and rewarding professions.


What made you choose IR? AA: IR has been my dream job ever since I could remember. When I was about 10 years old, I asked my dad if I could go to work with him that day. He was excited and let me shadow him, and the first procedure I observed him perform was an IVC filter placement. It wasn’t a complicated or difficult procedure by any means, but to my little, 10-year-old brain it was the coolest and most exciting thing I’d ever seen. The idea that he had a human being on the table, treating them, all while watching a screen the whole time was mind blowing. I never knew medicine could resemble a video game that much. Seeing him interact with his colleagues, and back in the day, reading diagnostic images on the lightbox with a tape recorder, and being consulted over and over by other physicians just showed me the importance of his role. I essentially made the decision then and there that I was going to become a doctor. I pursued medicine knowing I was going to continue into IR, and the path just made me fall in love with it even more. Realizing the ever- growing nature of the field, with new devices, procedures and techniques every year, meant it had some of the greatest potential for growth with the advancements in technology.


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