History of the Department

2025

Thomas Grist Honored by RSNA

Thomas Grist, MD accepted a Gold Medal from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in December 2025.

2024

Four Faculty Recognized for their Excellence with Gold Medals from Societies

David Bluemke, MD, PhD accepted a Gold Medal from the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) in January 2024.

Fred Lee, MD accepted a Gold Medal from the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) in March 2024.

Perry Pickhardt, MD accepted a Gold Medal from the Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR) in April 2024.

Elizabeth Burnside, MD, MPH, MS accepted a Gold Medal from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in December 2024.

2024

Thomas Grist, MD/GE HealthCare Foundation Distinguished Chair in Radiology Research established

The GE HealthCare Foundation gave funds to establish a professorship in Dr. Grist’s name that will support the UW Department of Radiology’s research initiatives. 

2024

First Histotripsy-Based Ablation by a Radiology Department in the U.S.

A team of interventional radiologists, led by Erica Knavel Koepsel, MD, performed the first clinical histotripsy-based ablation in Wisconsin following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the procedure. It was also the first completed by a radiology department in the United States.

2023

Tabby Kennedy Became First Woman to Hold an Endowed Professorship in the Department

Tabby Kennedy, MD becomes the Joseph F. Sackett Professor in Radiology, named in honor of former department chair. Dr. Kennedy has served as chief of the Section of Neuroradiology since 2019 and is the department’s inaugural vice chair of communications.

2023

Incidental Findings of MRI Research Volunteers

Howard A. Rowley, MD and colleagues publish “Incidental Findings from 16,400 Brain MRI Examinations of Research Volunteers” in the American Journal of Neuroradiology. The publication is the largest prospective data base of its kind.

2021

Innovative Ablation Technology

Erica Knavel Koepsel, MD and Lindsay Stratchko, DO begin new clinical programs utilizing ablation technology.

2021

UW Uses AI to Help Diagnose COVID Pneumonia on Chest Radiography

Ran Zhang, PhD, and his collaborators were the first group to publish work on the implementation of AI in diagnosing COVID pneumonia.

2020

Opportunistic Screening

Perry Pickhardt, MD and colleagues publish “Automated CT biomarkers for opportunistic prediction of future cardiovascular events and mortality in an asymptomatic screening population: a retrospective cohort study” in The Lancet.

2018

Beth Burnside Takes on Notable Leadership Roles at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health

Beth Burnside, MD, MPH, MS, professor of Radiology in the Section of Breast Imaging is named the Senior Associated Dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health and Executive Co-Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Burnside is an accomplished researcher with over 90 publications with an interest in improving population based screening and the diagnosis of breast cancer.

2017

Radiology Curriculum Integrated Within the School of Medicine and Public Health Forward Curriculum

Jason Stephenson, MD; Tabby Kennedy, MD; and Allison Grayev, MD lead the department’s initiatives to integrate radiology across all three phases of the medical school curriculum through vertical and horizontal integration.

2015

Department of Radiology Partnership with Gross Anatomy

Allison Grayev, MD becomes co-director of Anatomy at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

2014

Erica Knavel Koepsel Elected Chief Resident

Erica Knavel Koepsel, MD was the first woman elected chief resident in the Department of Radiology. After completing her training in IR, Dr. Knavel Koepsel joined the faculty at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She was recruited back to UW in 2012 and leads new clinical initiatives in MR guided interventions.

2014

UW Partners with GE HealthCare to Create Low-Dose CT Protocols

Led by Myron Pozniak, MD, the University of Wisconsin has solidified its role as a recognized leader in imaging through the development of new low-dose CT protocols, now being shipped with all GE scanners. These protocols are designed to reduce radiation dose, acquire clinically useful images, and reduce the rate of repeat scans. As a result, clinical departments worldwide can now “image gently and image well.”

2014

Commercial Introduction of 4D DSA

Charles Mistretta, PhD, and Charlie Strother, MD, return to X-ray DSA work to provide a time series of 3D images, improving image frame rate and catheter tracking.

2013

HOPE Program Founded

Bridget Willey, PhD, RDMS, RVT, RDCS, RT (R) founded the HOPE Program in 2013. This program was started from a community philanthropic investment by the UW Department of Radiology. HOPE is designed to grant underrepresented high school and college mentors with the opportunity to explore a variety of health occupations and professions in a hands-on, immersive Saturday seminar.

2013

Opportunistic Screening

Perry Pickhardt, MD and colleagues publish seminal article: “Opportunistic Screening for Osteoporosis Using Abdominal Computer Tomography Obtained for Other Indications” in Annals of Internal Medicine.

2010

Quantification of Liver Fat with MRI

Scott Reeder, MD, PhD and his team, including Diego Hernando, PhD, complete their invention of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) as a quantitative biomarker of liver fat content. They work collaboratively with GE HealthCare to translate this work into IDEAL IQ, the first commercial quantitative MRI biomarker of any kind.

2010

Grand Opening of Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR) and the WIMR Imaging Science Center

WIMR was designed to foster cross-discipline research and to support bringing new developments from the lab bench to the bedside. It has provided a stable home for the UW Carbone Cancer Center, and created new collaborations between the Departments of Radiology and Medical Physics and many facets of the School of Medicine and Public Health.

2009

Women Professionals in Radiology Group Established

The Women Professionals in Radiology (WPR) committee was founded by Lynn Broderick, MD; Beth Burnside, MD, MPH, MS; Susan Rebsamen, MD; and Elizabeth Sadowski, MD. The mission of the WPR was to facilitate the success of women in all ranks of the radiology community and to promote academic and clinical excellence in all faculty, residents, and students, regardless of gender identification.

2007

Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Brain Published

Andrew Alexander, PhD and Aaron Field, MD, PhD had their article “Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Brain” published in Neurotherapeutics and it quickly became a widely cited work.

2005

MR Angiography and 4D Flow Advancements

UW MR Angiography team publishes an article on 4D flow measurements using PC-VIPR in the American Journal of Neuroradiology.

2004

First Human Trial of Innovative Cancer Agent

The first patient was dosed with NM404, a cancer therapy agent developed by Jamey Weichert, PhD. The agent has demonstrated tumor uptake in over 50 types of cancer, and can be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. This team later went on to develop Alkylphosphocholine analogs for broad-spectrum cancer imaging and therapy, published in Science Translational Medicine in 2014.

2003

Establishment of CT Colonography

“Computed Tomographic Virtual Colonoscopy to Screen for Colorectal Neoplasia in Asymptomatic Adults” by Perry Pickhardt, MD, and colleagues published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2002

Tomotherapy Provides CT-Guided Highly Controlled Radiation Dose Delivery

Department of Medical Physics Professor Thomas Rockwell “Rock” Mackie, PhD, develops tomotherapy, a vanguard of modern image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Introduced commercially in 2007, tomotherapy is now in clinical use at more than 500 sites worldwide.

1996

Mistretta, Grist, and Korosec Develop 3D TRICKS

3D time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (TRICKS) is an improved version of time-resolved MR angiography and remains the preferred commercial method to this day. Charles Mistretta, PhD; Thomas Grist, MD’ and Frank Korosec, PhD, were the inventors of 3D TRICKS. Their work on time-resolved contrast-enhanced 3D MR Angiography was published in Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

1995

Tumor Ablation Lab Founded

After finding that the current ablation technology was underpowered and ineffective, radiologist Robert Turrel, MD, and then-Professor of Imaging Sciences Fred Lee, Jr., MD founded the Tumor Ablation Lab.

The lab developed microwave ablation technology from the ground up, with the assistance of Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Daniel Van Der Weide, PhD and then-students Christopher Brace, PhD and Paul Laeseke, MD, PhD. No microwave ablation equipment existed at UW, forcing the group to improvise with items including WWII-era hand guides, homebuilt. After several years of testing and improving the device, Lee, Van Der Weide, Brace, and Laeseke licensed the device through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), allowing them to offer the treatment to patients.

1995

Juhl and Cameron Honored for Achievements

John Juhl, MD and John Cameron, PhD were awarded the special Roentgen Centennial Commemorative Medal Award from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) for their numerous early groundbreaking contributions to the field of radiology.

1984

First On-Campus MRI Revolutionizes Soft Tissue Imaging

In a strategic collaboration with GE HealthCare, UW installs the first on-campus whole body MRI machine. UW scientists and physicians were able to image soft tissue in detail, and do so safely, with no ionizing radiation.

1981

Digital Subtraction Angiography Unveiled

After nearly a decade of collaboration between Charles Mistretta, PhD and Andrew Crummy, MD; the first commercial prototype of a digital subtraction angiography (DSA) instrument was unveiled at the 1981 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting. Soon, Mistretta and his departmental colleagues were in extreme demand across the globe to explain and demonstrate the capabilities of DSA.

1981

The Department of Medical Physics is Established

The Department of Medical Physics splits off from the Department of Radiology as an independent department at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, becoming the very first department of medical physics in the US; under the leadership of John Cameron, PhD, the inaugural chair.

1979

Move to Clinical Sciences Center

Hamstrung by a lack of space and resources, UW Radiology’s campaign for improved facilities came to fruition in 1979, when they moved across campus to the new Clinical Sciences Center (CSC). Department leaders were faced with the challenge of moving over 200 patients from 1300 University Avenue to their new home at CSC. After much deliberation, they devised a strategy. Using a convoy of eight appropriately equipped moving vans, they successfully transferred all 200 patients in just under four hours.

1977

Joseph Sackett Revolutionizes Spine Imaging with Introduction of Metrizamide

Joseph Sackett, MD was the first radiologist in North America to use metrizamide as a contrast agent for spine imaging. His landmark 1977 paper demonstrated the safety and efficacy of metrizamide, a vast improvement over the previous oil-based agent. Modern-day metrizamide techniques are still based on Sackett’s research.

1973

Mary Ellen Peters Joins Faculty

Mary Ellen Peters, MD, UW School of Medicine and Public Health class of ’67 was one of the first female faculty to join the department. She was a pediatric and chest radiologist and served as vice chair. She retired in 1999 and had been awarded numerous teaching awards including the Deans Teaching Award. Most recently, Peters was granted the WMAA emeritus award in 2013 for ongoing service to the school.

1964

Andrew Crummy Innovates on Arrival

Upon his arrival at UW, Andrew B. Crummy, MD wasted no time in introducing cutting-edge techniques to cardiovascular and neuroradiology, in addition to championing ultrasound as a diagnostic too.

1963

John Cameron Pioneers Two New Techniques

In the span of just one year, John Cameron, PhD solved two important challenges to research: dosimetry and measuring bone density. First, he successfully measured doses of radiation administered to a University Hospitals patient, using a technique called thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD). Second, he invented a technique for measuring bone density, used in the diagnosis of osteoporosis. Cameron applied a small beam of radiation to the bone and measured the photons that passed through with a detector.

1959

John Juhl and Lester Paul Create Groundbreaking Textbook

“The Essentials of Roentgen Interpretation” is published, authored by John H. Juhl, MD and Lester W. Paul, MD. The all-inclusive radiology textbook was quickly established as a unique and first rate compendium of the field.

1951

Dedication of “Cancer Research Hospital” Including a State-of-the-Art X-Ray Therapy Unit

Located in a new wing of the Wisconsin General Hospital, the new Cancer Research Hospital included a million-volt GE x-ray therapy unit – the first of its kind in Wisconsin. The unit itself weighed over two tons and was placed in a custom-built treatment room with 18′ thick walls.

1912

A Career in Radiology: Paul Hodges

Paul Hodges, MD, who started his radiology career when he was an undergraduate at UW was hired by the Dean to run the x-ray machine at Madison General Hospital in exchange for room and board, laundry, and $10 a month. Dr. Hodges had initially apprenticed with his uncle in Ashland, Wisconsin, taking x-rays at age 14. He went on to become the Chair of Radiology at the University of Chicago. He invented the x-ray photo-timer, along with Russel Morgan, MD who went on to become Chair of Radiology at Johns Hopkins.

1910

First Reference to Radiology at University of Wisconsin–Madison

The first reference to radiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a paper entitled “A Paper on the Action of X-rays on Development,” by C.R. Barden.