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Progress at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 Watertown Plank Rd, Milwaukee, WI 53226. Received May 15, 2002; accepted May 17. Address correspondence to the author (e-mail: whendee@mcw.edu).

Index terms: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering • Radiology and radiologists • Special reports

On May 6, 2002, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), the newest institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced the appointment of its first permanent director. The appointee is Roderic Ivan Pettigrew, PhD, MD, who will assume the leadership position of the NIBIB in late August or early September 2002. At the time of the announcement, Dr Pettigrew was professor of radiology and medicine (cardiology) at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga, and professor of bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. At Emory, Dr Pettigrew also served as director of the Emory Center for Magnetic Resonance (MR) Research.

View larger version (128K): [in this window] [in a new window] [Download PPT slide]   Roderic I. Pettigrew, PhD, MD

Dr Pettigrew received a PhD degree in applied radiation physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass, where his research under Gordon Brownell, PhD, in the Department of Nuclear Engineering focused on the use of boron neutron capture therapy of malignant brain neoplasms and on activation analysis for the investigation and management of metabolic bone diseases. He received an MD degree from the University of Miami Medical School, Fla, which honored Dr Pettigrew with its Most Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1990. He completed residencies in internal medicine at Emory University and in nuclear medicine at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga, and a master of science degree in nuclear science and engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. He has received recognition as a Merrill Overseas Study Scholar, Ford Foundation Fellow, Atomic Energy Commission Fellow, Whitaker Health Sciences Fellow, and Robert Wood Johnson Fellow. He is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. In 1989, Dr Pettigrew delivered the Eugene Pendergrass New Horizons lecture for the 75th Diamond Anniversary of the Radiological Society of North America.

Dr Pettigrew has been a funded investigator or coinvestigator for the NIH since 1993. His research interests are in dynamic three-dimensional approaches to MR imaging of the cardiovascular system. He was a codeveloper of the first computer software package designed specifically for cardiac imaging with MR. He has served as a mentor for a number of doctor of philosophy students and as a member of the editorial board for several journals, including the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, Investigative Radiology, and the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. He has fulfilled two 4-year appointments on the NIH Diagnostic Radiology Study Section and has served as the chair of the study section in 2000-2001.

In announcing Dr Pettigrew’s appointment, Ruth L. Kirschstein, MD, acting director of the NIH, stated: "The NIBIB is the only institute at NIH dedicated to biomedical technologies, and we believe that this new direction is truly a reflection of where science is today, and where it will take us tomorrow. Dr Pettigrew, a recognized expert in the development and application of bioimaging techniques to patient care, will provide dynamic leadership in our efforts to apply the principles of engineering and imaging science to biological processes, disorders, and diseases."

Dr Pettigrew assumes the directorship of the NIBIB at a time when a major new frontier for imaging research is evolving. This frontier, molecular imaging (2,3), offers opportunities for imaging scientists to contribute to fundamental research in the phenotypic expression of genetic information in animals and humans. It also carries the promises of earlier detection, characterization and treatment of disease, and more effective guidance, monitoring, evaluation, and assessment of disease therapies. Realization of these opportunities and promises presents some major challenges to radiology, however, because they reflect an ever-deepening understanding of the physics, chemistry, and information science underlying basic biology, human health, and disease. Exploitation of this understanding in research and clinical medicine will demand that imaging clinicians and scientists of the future have a knowledge base in genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, pharmacodynamics, and information science. This knowledge base will be essential because future breakthroughs and new applications in imaging are likely to be driven more by expansions of biologic knowledge than by advances in imaging technology. Educational programs in radiology and medical physics will need to accommodate this knowledge base if their graduates are to participate in and contribute to these future breakthroughs and clinical applications.

The appointment of Roderic Pettigrew, PhD, MD, as director of the NIBIB presents an unparalleled opportunity for biomedical imaging, bioengineering, and bioinformatics to contribute in a highly important way to advances in biomedical research and to improvements in clinical medicine. There is much to be gained by a coalescence of the disciplines in support of Dr Pettigrew and by a collaborative and symbiotic dedication to the advancement of new knowledge in biology and medicine.

FOOTNOTES

Abbreviations: NIBIB = National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH = National Institutes of Health

REFERENCES

1. Hendee WR, Chien S, Maynard CD, Dean DJ. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: history, status, and potential impact. Radiology 2002; 222:12-18.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Weissleder R, Mahmood U. Molecular imaging. Radiology 2001; 219:316-333.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
3. Hillman BJ, Neiman HL. Translating molecular imaging research into radiologic practice: summary of the proceedings of the American College of Radiology Colloquium, April 22-24, 2001. Radiology 2002; 222:19-24.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. A. Fee and R. I. Pettigrew National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: Poised for the Future Radiology, December 1, 2003; 229(3): 636 - 637. [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. R. Hendee Opportunities and Challenges for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Radiology, August 1, 2003; 228(2): 316 - 318. [Full Text] [PDF]

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