Past AAPM President: 2019 (2023)

During my presidency, I was a Professor of Medical Physics and BME at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I was active in research related to X-ray computed tomography (CT), with three NIH R01 grants. At the time that I was elected, I chaired the CT Subcommittee and was a member of the Imaging Physics Committee. I was an AAPM delegate to the International Electrotechnical Commission, was active in four task groups and chaired a fifth one, all related to CT imaging. I have given many AAPM invited presentations and served as a director of the 2012 summer school on Medical Imaging and Ionizing Radiation and the 2010 and 2011 CT Dose Summits. Likely the most impactful activity of my presidency was holding a Data Sciences Roundtable meeting at AAPM headquarters to which I invited leaders from the ACR, ASTRO, FDA, NIBIB, NCI, RSNA, SPIE, SIIM, NIST, the Academy for Radiology Research, and various AAPM groups focused on data sciences. The roundtable was a huge success and secured AAPM's position within the larger data sciences community—a community that often overlooked the essential contributions of medical physics. The roundtable and subsequent interactions with the director of the NIBIB was instrumental in paving the road to AAPM's current position as an equal contributor, with the ACR and the RSNA, to the activities of the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC). Other highlights of the year include establishing memorandums of understanding with EFOMP and the BIR, and forming successful presidential ad hoc committees that addressed (1) education about the discontinuation of gonadal shielding, (2) participation of medical physics assistants in the AAPM, (3) external communications and social media, (4) two different ad hoc committees that led to the establishment of an International Council, (5) processes to manage member conflicts of interest, (6) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in radiation therapy, (7) the impact of the FDA's acceptance of International Electrotechnical Commission's standards, and (8) the selection of a new editor of Medical Physics. The theme of the 2019 Annual Meeting, held in San Antonio, TX, was Building Bridges: Cultivating Safety and Growing Value. Only by working across specialties, environments, and generations, can we provide the best patient care and establish the value of our work more securely among other professionals. I invited Amy Lynch, an expert in the field of generational communications, to be our keynote speaker. I started off the symposium by defining key concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and then shared my own experiences coming up through the ranks as a female. The night out was held at La Villita Historic Arts Village. The experience of serving as AAPM's president was meaningful in countless ways. I feel a sense of satisfaction in work that was done, and I came to appreciate how much work goes on behind the scenes through the efforts of our thousands of volunteers and our exceptional headquarters staff. Perhaps the most meaningful moment of my presidency was after the presidential symposium, when members from underrepresented groups came up to the stage to offer heartfelt thanks for “Seeing Them” and making them feel a valued part of our organization.