What excites you about the future of IR? AA: I think what I’m most excited about in the future of IR is the unknown. Technology is advancing exponentially and so is AI. I genuinely believe IR has some of the greatest potential for the future and should be spearheading technological advancements in the medical field, because we’re the sweet spot that joins both technology and medicine into one career, both of which I’m passionate about. The possibilities of what can be achieved are limitless. Moreover, our understanding of different diseases and their pathogenesis is changing and growing. This will be reflected in our treatment modalities. It’ll not only change some of the management standards we employ today but will also create new treatments that we can deliver in order to treat diseases more effectively and efficiently.


Richard J. Silberstein, MD, and Sara Silberstein, MD Richard J. Silberstein, MD, completed his radiology fellowship at Stanford in 1982, and today works as an IR at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. His daughter, Sara Silberstein, MD, is a PGY-3 resident at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.


Why did you choose IR? Richard J. Silberstein, MD: IR chose me, I think. My fellowship was in body, which at the time was ultrasound (I started with static imaging) and CT (EMI scanner). A busy day on CT was 12 scans. I did “special procedures” in residency, and then went into private practice and kept doing special procedures, such as nephrostomies without sedation or ultrasound guidance, and many pulmonary angiograms, etc. Then it seems like one day I became an interventional radiologist.


Sara Silberstein, MD: I didn’t go to medical school right after college, and instead worked in the medical field from a technology and public health perspective, and obtained a Masters of Public Policy with a focus on health


Richard J. Silberstein, MD, and Sara Silberstein, MD


policy. My goal was always to go into medicine, and when I was in medical school, I was fortunate to meet some IR residents who were very focused on ethics and had created a working group that was putting IR at the forefront of medical ethics work. IR, from an outside observer, is not as focused on humanism as primary care may be, and people often associate it with technology and innovation—which is accurate. But I think at the heart of IR, there ends up being a lot of humanism in it, which is reflected by that constant question that all IRs ask: irrespective of disease state, how can we help this patient? What are the pain points in care, and how can we alleviate them?


What was it like growing up in an IR household? SS: My dad is one of the humblest people I know. If you ask him how he came to IR, he’ll tell you that he just stumbled into it, and make you think he was just walking around one day and landed in the IR department. But the truth is that my father is someone who is so incredibly smart and is always learning. Growing up, I never saw him as an IR specifically, but rather as a doctor who took care of his patients and was incredibly excited to do so. And he has maintained that


excitement and appreciation for the wonders of medicine.


One of the many lessons I’ve learned from my dad is that there is no task too simple, or no task below you. No matter how good you get in your career, even the simplest task can be a learning opportunity. Your job as a doctor is to treat, heal and help, and no aspect of that becomes too simple or menial.


How does it feel to have your daughter follow in your footsteps? RS: I love having Sara do what I do—but I didn’t tell her to do it. She spent a month with us at SCVMC during her 4th year in medical school, and it was the best month of my career.


What excites you about the future of IR? SS: I’m excited to be in my dad’s position, years from now, and able to look back on IR and see how far we’ve come. IR is expanding and growing so rapidly that I have no clue what it will look like, but I know it will be exciting. For my own career, I’m excited to watch this growth and also serve as a mentor in order to pay forward all the time and guidance that my mentors have given me.


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