UWSMPH Department of Radiology faculty David Bluemke, MD, PhD, and Vivek Prabhakaran, MD, PhD, were recently named to the 2020 Council of Distinguished Investigators by the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research, as recognition for their outstanding contributions to the field of medical imaging. This award recognizes the nation’s top imaging researchers, and also those who have achieved scientific excellence while also being involved in clinical care. Drs. Bluemke and Prabhakaran are two of only 39 people across the country selected to receive this award.
Dr. Bluemke, who joined the department faculty in 2017, is a professor in the Thoracic Imaging and Cardiovascular Imaging Sections. He came to the UW from his role as Radiologist-in-Chief of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. Dr. Bluemke was also a tenured senior investigator at the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and Clinical Center, as well as an adjunct senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Previously, Dr. Bluemke was a Professor of Radiology and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. He has authored over 600 publications in the areas of diagnostic radiology and cardiovascular disease, including his work as principal investigator for MRI studies in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Dr. Bluemke is the current Editor-in-Chief of the journal Radiology, the field’s most prominent publication.
Dr. Prabhakaran joined the department faculty in 2008, in the Neuroradiology Section, after completing his radiology residency and fellowship in diagnostic neuroradiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD. He had previously completed is doctoral work at Stanford University Medical School, Palo Alto, CA, in cognitive neuroscience and functional neuroimaging. With affiliate appointments at the UW in Psychiatry, Neurology and the Neuroscience Training Program, Dr. Prabhakaran’s research laboratory focuses on developing fMRI and other multimodal neuroimaging tools for neurotranslational research that involves the characterization and treatment of different brain lesions such as vascular lesions – stroke, tumors and seizure pathology. His many peer-reviewed publications have appeared in high-profile journals. Dr. Prabhakaran is a frequently invited speaker and presenter at regional, national and international meetings. His work has been covered by large media outlets, including NPR, BBC, CBS News, Scientific American, and more.
Both Dr. Bluemke and Dr. Prabhakaran successfully met the stringent criteria of sustained productivity (including at least 25 peer-reviewed scientific research publications in which the awardee is first or senior author) and demonstrated accomplishments as an independent investigator of a substantial, ongoing research program (at least six cumulative years of funding as the Principal Investigator of a major competitive extramural research grant). Honorees will be inducted into the academy’s Council of Distinguished Investigators this fall during the RSNA’s virtual meeting. Previous awardees from UW-Madison Radiology include Professors Thomas Grist, Scott Reeder, Elizabeth Burnside, Perry Pickhardt, Patrick Turski, and Charlie Strother.