Changes We Can Embrace
By Desiree E. Morgan, MD, ABR Governor
2025;18(2):1
Early spring is my favorite season. In my part of the world, daffodils, hyacinths, and now irises are blooming, the redbuds are finishing their showy fuchsia, dogwoods are opening, and from elms to oaks, the big trees are in bud. Spring signals a change that we can count on, one that we welcome (allergies aside!). Not all change is as embraceable, but when it is carefully explained, the prickly feeling we tend to get when we are told “change is coming” is easier to process. This edition of The Beam explains changes coming to the IR/DR certifying exam process, a new pathway toward pediatric radiology certification, and refinement of the ABR’s strategic priorities, in addition to introducing you to volunteers, new perspectives, and more of our processes, as we typically do. I hope you enjoy learning more, and I wish you abundant beauty this spring!
In this issue …
ABR President Cheri L. Canon, MD, and ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, describe two new strategic priorities: proactively collaborating with professional organizations and creating a culture of improvement and innovation.
The ABR Board of Trustees will be adding seven members this year: three in diagnostic radiology (pediatric radiology, cardiothoracic imaging, and neuroradiology), two in interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology, one in radiation oncology, and one in diagnostic medical physics.
ABR Governor Stephen F. Simoneaux, MD, and ABR Executive Director Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, announce a 15-month pathway to pediatric subspecialty certification.
ABR President Cheri L. Canon, MD, and ABR President-elect John A. Kaufman, MD, MS, discuss how stakeholder input informed the decision to change the Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology Certifying Exam process.
ABR Associate Executive Director for Medical Physics Geoffrey S. Ibbott, PhD, describes the application process for becoming a medical physics volunteer and the important work volunteers do to prepare, evaluate, and administer ABR exams.
ABR Associate Executive Director for Radiation Oncology Michael Yunes, MD, announces that future ABR Radiation Oncology Qualifying and Certifying exams will contain more content on unsealed sources.
Third-year medical students Zach Cherian and Adam El Hendy Gunnarsson discuss how they gained valuable experience by participating on a radiology panel at the Rosalind Franklin University Interprofessional Community Clinic.
ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell talks with ABR volunteer Adina Alazraki, MD, about her career switch from urgent care pediatrician to diagnostic radiologist.
After overcoming roadblocks in her educational journey, Alisa Walz-Flannigan, PhD, an ABR medical physics oral examiner, now creates opportunities for other women to thrive in a male-dominated field.
Continuing Certification Update
ABR Associate Director of Assessment Research and Strategy Brooke Houck, PhD, explains the scoring formula for evaluating a diplomate’s performance on Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA).
The application period for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholar program is open through June 26.
As a fellow and past president of the Society of Abdominal Imaging (SAR), I was honored to be one of three recipients of the SAR Gold Medal this year.
New 15-Month Pathway Offers Flexibility for Pediatric Radiology Training and Certification
By Stephen F. Simoneaux, MD, ABR Governor, and Brent Wagner, MD, MBA, ABR Executive Director
2025;18(2):4
Based on input and support from the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) , the ABR has created a pathway that allows diagnostic radiology (DR) residents to be eligible for subspecialty certification in pediatric radiology.
The goal was to offer a flexible alternative to the existing options of the traditional fellowship and clinical practice pathways, with the expectation that trainees might elect to concentrate a portion of their DR residency on imaging of children and young adults. Under the 15-month pathway, residents would, with the approval of their DR program director and institution, apply to the ABR at least six months before residency graduation with an individualized program plan for rotations that satisfy the requirements outlined on the ABR website, including 12 core pediatric rotations and up to three electives (“pediatric radiology-related rotations”).
Among other requirements, the training during the residency must:
- Meet ACGME program requirements for clinical experiences in pediatric radiology across modalities including radiography, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine and molecular imaging (NMMI), as well as interventional procedures.
- Include experience across pediatric subspecialty areas including pediatric neuroradiology, pediatric body imaging, fetal imaging, pediatric cardiovascular imaging, pediatric musculoskeletal imaging, and pediatric NMMI.
- Include experience representing age-related (fetal/neonate/infant/child/adolescent) normal anatomy, growth and development, and the spectrum of disorders.
- Be overseen by a preceptor who is an ABR pediatric subspecialty certified radiologist at the time of application and throughout the duration of the pathway. If a training program loses its pediatric subspecialty certified radiologists, the program cannot continue.
Residents who successfully complete the program during residency could then elect to pursue a fellowship in another subspecialty (e.g., neuroradiology, abdominal imaging, etc.). Alternatively, they could build on their experience via a traditional pediatric radiology fellowship after residency, but that additional training would not be required to establish eligibility for the subspecialty exam.
Seven Volunteers Joining Board of Trustees
By Rodney Campbell, ABR Communications Manager
2025;18(2):3
The ABR is welcoming seven members to its Board of Trustees (BOT) this year.
Sherwin Chan, MD, PhD, started March 1 as the diagnostic radiology pediatrics representative. John Fritz Angle, MD (interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology), Isabel Cortopassi, MD (diagnostic radiology cardiothoracic imaging), Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA (radiation oncology), Michelle Miller-Thomas, MD (diagnostic radiology neuroradiology), Sameer Tipnis, PhD (diagnostic medical physics), and Darryl Zuckerman, MD (interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology) will join the BOT at the conclusion of the fall Board meeting.
Dr. Angle is a professor of radiology and medical imaging and director of the division of vascular and interventional radiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha. Dr. Angle completed a diagnostic radiology residency at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City and a fellowship in interventional radiology at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Chan is vice chair for research in the department of radiology at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and professor of radiology and director of research in the department of radiology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He earned his MD/PhD in biomedical engineering at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Chan completed a radiology residency at the University of Washington and a pediatric fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dr. Cortopassi is a professor and vice chair of education in the department of radiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science in Jacksonville, Florida. She earned her medical degree from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. Dr. Cortopassi completed an internal medicine residency at Hospital of Restauracão in Recife, and a diagnostic radiology residency at InCor-Hospital das Clinicas, University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. She finished her US-based radiology training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Dr. Michalski is a professor and vice chair and director of clinical programs at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He earned his MD at the Medical College of Wisconsin, completed his residency at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and earned an MBA at Washington University’s John Olin School of Business.
Dr. Miller-Thomas is a professor of radiology, director of medical student education in radiology, and vice chair of faculty development at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She earned her MD from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller-Thomas completed a diagnostic radiology residency at the University of Texas Health Center in Houston and a fellowship in neuroradiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Dr. Tipnis is a professor of radiology and chief medical physicist at the Medical University of South Carolina. He earned a master’s in physics at the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai) in India and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Dr. Zuckerman is an associate professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at the Yale University School of Medicine. He earned his MD from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Dr. Zuckerman completed his diagnostic radiology residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and a fellowship in vascular radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The BOT advances the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of the ABR’s exams for Initial and Continuing Certification across all disciplines of radiology. The BOT makes recommendations to the Board of Governors regarding assessment structure including, but not limited to, exam format, content, assembly, delivery, scoring, and feedback. Members have specialty and subspecialty expertise, reflecting major areas of clinical practice.
