RSNA Names New Board Chair

Vijay M. Rao, M.D., was named chair of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors at the Society’s annual meeting this week in Chicago, Ill.

A global authority on head and neck imaging and also recognized for her health services research in radiology, Rao is The David C. Levin Professor and Chair of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa. A graduate of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rao has remained on the faculty at Thomas Jefferson University since completing her residency there in 1978. She was appointed associate chair for education in 1989 and vice chair for education in 2000. In 2002, she became the first woman chair of a clinical department in the university’s history. She is a trustee of the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital System/TJUH Inc.

As chair of the RSNA Board, Rao brings her expertise in health services and policy matters to bear in a shifting healthcare landscape of increasing complexity and declining reimbursements.

“RSNA is recognized for innovation in informatics and information technology. As Chair, I will work with the board to advance patient care initiatives, focusing on quality, safety and efficiency in a patient-centered model of care through implementation of IT tools, in partnership with industry. I will also work with Society leadership to find ways to leverage IT tools to provide educational resources of the RSNA at point of care for radiologists,” Rao said.

Rao has published more than 200 papers, 250 abstracts in medical literature, and a dozen book chapters, and she co-edited MRI and CT Atlas of Correlative Imaging in Otolaryngology. She is a sought-after lecturer and educator and has given nearly 200 invited lectures at academic universities and meetings worldwide.

Rao has served on the editorial boards of multiple journals, including Academic Radiology, Journal of the American College of Radiology and American Journal of Roentgenology. She has served as a manuscript reviewer for Radiology, American Journal of Neuroradiology, American Journal of Roentgenology, Academic Radiology, Neuroradiology, Pediatrics and Health Affairs. She served as editor of ASHNR News in 2001.

An RSNA member since 1981, Rao has led numerous courses and sessions at RSNA annual meetings and served on the Health Services Policy & Research subcommittee of the RSNA Scientific Program Committee. She has served the RSNA Research & Education (R&E) Foundation in a number of roles, including member of the Board of Trustees since 2008.

Rao has held committee or leadership positions in a number of major radiologic organizations, including the American Society of Neuroradiology and American College of Radiology, and regional organizations. She has served as president of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology, the American Association for Women Radiologists and the Association of Program Directors in Radiology, which bestowed on her its Distinguished Achievement Award in 2006. She is also the 2014 recipient of the gold medal award, presented by the Association of University Radiologists, and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award, presented by the American Association for Women Radiologists.

Rao also was honored in 2005 by the Philadelphia Business Journal as one of 25 Women of Distinction throughout the region. She has been chosen numerous times by her peers as a Top Doctor in Radiology, listed in Philadelphia Magazine.