RSNA Press Release

CHICAGO (Dec. 4, 2008) - Richard L. Baron, M.D., was named the newest member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors today at the Society's annual meeting in Chicago. A pioneer in abdominal imaging and in the gastrointestinal applications of CT and MR imaging, Dr. Baron will serve as the RSNA liaison-designate for education. Currently chair of radiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Baron has traversed the country, teaching and practicing in St. Louis, Seattle and Pittsburgh. He was chair and professor of radiology at the University of Pittsburgh and was founding president and CEO of the University of Pittsburgh Physicians, one of the country's largest medical provider groups with 1,400 physicians.

"RSNA has been a major part of my professional life for the last 30 years," Dr. Baron said. "It is important to me to give back to the radiology community and help shape radiology education for the next generation. RSNA is the organization that has the most significant impact on radiology education and science in clinical practice. I'm proud to be a part of it." Dr. Baron just concluded a three-year term as chair of the RSNA Education Exhibits Committee. He now will serve one year as liaison-designate for education under George S. Bisset III, M.D., before assuming the role of liaison when Dr. Bisset becomes RSNA Board chair at the conclusion of the 2009 RSNA annual meeting.

"Over the last several years, Dr. Baron has been the driving force behind the education exhibits displays," Dr. Bisset said. "While we will miss his leadership as chair of the Education Exhibits Committee, the Board welcomes his input as the new liaison-designate for education. He will be an invaluable asset as RSNA expands its educational efforts."

Dr. Baron has served in leadership roles for several national radiology societies, including president of the Society of Computed Body Tomography/Magnetic Resonance and the Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists. He also has served on the executive council of the American Roentgen Ray Society and is a fellow of the American College of Radiology. Dr. Baron is an honorary fellow of the European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology and an honorary member of the Argentine Society of Radiology, Argentine Federation of Associations of Radiology and Chilean Society of Radiology. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Radiology.

After graduating cum laude from Yale University, Dr. Baron attended Tufts University in Boston, before completing his medical degree at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. An internship in internal medicine at Yale University was followed by his radiology residency and abdominal radiology fellowship at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Later in his career, he continued his education at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Over the years, Dr. Baron has been principal investigator on several research projects and has earned many research awards from national radiology societies, especially in the area of diagnostic imaging of liver disease. He has authored more than 100 scientific articles and more than 40 book chapters and review articles, and has presented hundreds of invited lectures. He has received the Radiology Editor's Recognition Award four times.

Dr. Baron serves or has served as an associate editor, editorial consultant or reviewer for many peer-reviewed journals, including Radiology, Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, Contemporary Oncology, Journal of Clinical Ultrasound, American Journal of Roentgenology, Gastroenterology, Liver Transplantation and Archives of Internal Medicine.

Note: Copies of RSNA 2008 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press08 beginning Monday, Dec. 1.

RSNA is an association of more than 42,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to excellence in patient care through education and research. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)