About RSNA 
Sarah S. Donaldson, M.D. |
Who's Who
2008 Board of Directors: Sarah S. Donaldson, M.D.
Liaison for Publications and Communications, Stanford, CA (From RSNA 2005 Daily Bulletin)
One of the leaders in radiation oncology has been elected to the RSNA Board of Directors.
Sarah S. Donaldson, M.D., will be the liaison-designate for science.
"I am deeply honored and very enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve the RSNA. The Board of Directors position is a long-term commitment and responsibility that I am pleased to make a priority," she said.
Dr. Donaldson will work with Gary J. Becker, M.D., for one year until he becomes RSNA chairman and she becomes the liaison for science.
"This will be a constant stimulus for learning and tremendous fun," said Dr. Donaldson. "As liaison-designate for science, I will be able to participate in the research component of the annual scientific program, to work with the Research & Education Foundation and to help formulate the research and development along with the scientific direction of the Society."
Dr. Donaldson said RSNA offers tremendous opportunities for all the members of the radiologic sciences to work together and learn together.
"The RSNA is very interested in advancing its programs in the areas of oncologic imaging and therapy. The success of new advances in image-guided therapy, targeted therapy, molecular imaging and molecular oncology and highly conformal methods of the delivery of radiation are dependent upon the close working relationships between radiologists who are trained in imaging, nuclear medicine and physics, and those trained in therapy," she explained. "Never has there been a more exciting time in all the radiologic sciences than the present. The RSNA serves as the umbrella to bring us all together for research and development, as well as education. This is a golden time for all of us."
Dr. Donaldson first earned a nursing degree and then graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1968. At that time, the discipline of radiation oncology was just emerging and there were few women interested in the field. Since then, she has significantly advanced the field, especially in pediatric radiation oncology.
Dr. Donaldson completed a residency in radiation therapy at Stanford University Hospital and a post-doctorate fellowship in pediatric oncology at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston. In 1973 she accepted a faculty position at Stanford, where she remains today.
In addition to her position as the associate chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, deputy clinic chief, and residency program director for radiation oncology at Stanford University Medical Center, Dr. Donaldson is also the Catharine and Howard Avery Professor of Radiation Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
For more than 30 years, Dr. Donaldson has served as a mentor to countless physicians and residents, especially other women. She played a leading role in the conceptualization and planning of Stanford's new Center for Cancer Treatment and Prevention, and has been listed as one of the "Best Doctors in America" for more than a decade.
Her interests include pediatrics, soft tissue and bone sarcomas, Hodgkin's disease, central nervous system tumors, breast cancer, radiotherapy for benign disease, and the late effects of cancer and its treatment.
She has made 200 major scientific presentations and has authored two books, 72 book chapters and nearly 200 scientific articles.
Dr. Donaldson is a former president of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Board of Radiology. She is the recipient of an ASTRO gold medal, American Radium Society gold medal, the W.W. Sutow Medal and the del Regato gold medal. She is a fellow of the American College of Radiology has also been inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. She serves on the editorial boards of Pediatric Blood and Cancer, Journal of the American College of Radiology and the International Journal of Radiology Oncology, Biology, Physics.
Last updated: 2005
