RSNA Press Release

CHICAGO – Richard L. Baron, M.D., FACR, was named chairman of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Board of Directors today at the Society's annual meeting in Chicago.

Dr. Baron is professor of radiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he has been since 2002, serving as chair of the Department of Radiology from 2002 to 2011 and dean for clinical practice from 2011 to 2013.

As chairman, Dr. Baron will support RSNA's missions and core values by placing a priority on evaluating how RSNA's educational offerings are organized and accessed, given that lifelong learning and continuous, real-time education are now so essential to the radiology community.

"RSNA members and contributors produce a broad array of scientific and educational content that collectively provides an unmatched resource for the imaging community," he said. "We want to optimize how we capitalize on that resource to most effectively meet our members' needs."

Dr. Baron also believes it is important to reach out to international members to foster valuable interaction amongst members of the radiology community worldwide.

"The world of radiology has become truly one interconnected group, and our membership, annual meeting and journal participation reflect this global community," he said. "I'd like to help the RSNA continue to provide meaningful opportunities for our international members to interact with our North American members in a comprehensive way."

In 1972, Dr. Baron graduated cum laude from Yale University and earned his medical degree in 1976 at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. 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. Later in his career, he continued his education at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Baron has authored or co-authored 118 peer-reviewed scientific articles, one book, 49 book chapters and review articles, and numerous scientific and educational exhibits. He has presented hundreds of invited lectures. He has served on the editorial boards and as manuscript reviewer for multiple journals, including Radiology, American Journal of Roentgenology, Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, Liver Transplantation, Gastroenterology and European Radiology, and served as an associate editor of Radiology from 1991 to 1996.

During his career, Dr. Baron has been an active member of several medical societies and organizations, including the American College of Radiology, Washington State Radiology Society, and the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS). He has been a frequent guest examiner for the American Board of Radiology. Dr. Baron served on the Board of Directors of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center from 1997 to 2002 and on The Joint Commission Professional Technical Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2011.

Over the years, Dr. Baron has been principal investigator on a dozen research projects and has earned research awards from numerous national radiology societies, especially in the area of diagnostic imaging of liver disease. The RSNA has presented Dr. Baron with two Magna Cum Laude Awards, and the ARRS awarded him gold and silver medals for educational exhibits. The European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology awarded Dr. Baron honorary fellowship in 2008.

An RSNA member since 1978, Dr. Baron has served on many committees, such as the Scientific Program Committee, Public Information Advisors Network, Finance Committee and the Education Exhibits Committee, of which he served as chairman from 2006 to 2009. In 2008, he was elected to the RSNA Board of Directors and served as the liaison for education. He currently serves as liaison for international activities.

Note: Copies of other RSNA 2013 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press13 beginning Monday, Dec. 2.

RSNA is an association of more than 53,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists, promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. (RSNA.org)