Richard J. Ehman, MD

Richard L. Ehman, MD, Professor of Radiology at Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, has been a leader in the field of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging since the mid 1980’s when he was recruited as a clinical fellow to head the MR Research Program at Mayo Clinic. Interestingly, one of Dr Ehman’s first research grants came from the RSNA R&E Foundation: a Research Scholar grant entitled “Development of a Comprehensive Method for High Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Moving Structures”. Not long after, Dr Ehman was well on his way to becoming a fully funded NIH researcher. He continues to be active in research with 8 extramurally-funded projects, 7 of which are funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His ongoing research has led to 21 patents in the United States, over 170 publications, 240 refereed abstracts and 35 poster exhibits presented at various national and international meetings.

In addition to his own research, Dr Ehman is known for his active role as teacher and mentor to radiologists, physicists and research scientists. Included in the list of trainees is Bernard F King Jr, MD, FACR, now Professor, and Chair of Radiology at Mayo Clinic: “Dr Ehman’s mentorship serves as a shining example to many of us in the field of radiology and has set the standard of mentorship for future generations here at Mayo and beyond…”

Dr Ehman is a passionate advocate of radiology research in general. He serves in several leadership roles at the Mayo Clinic, including Vice Chair of the Rochester Executive Board and as a member of the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors. His extramural activities include reviewing articles and serving on the editorial boards for journals such as Radiology, Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, Magnetic Resonance Quarterly, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and Computer Aided Surgery. He has served as a reviewer and chair for NIH study sections, and as President of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). Dr Ehman’s honors and awards include the ISMRM Gold Medal, Fellowships of the Society of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American College of Radiology. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the University of Saskatchewan, the same institution where he received his B.Sc. and MD degrees.

Dr Ehman’s research interests include magnetic resonance imaging, musculoskeletal MRI, vascular and cardiac MRI, motion and flow physics in MRI, and MR elastography. As Thomas E Hartman, MD, Professor of Radiology at Mayo Clinic, summarized, “It is apparent that Dr Ehman has played a core-role in past and present MR research and there is every indication that he will continue to be [a] core contributor to MR research in the future. Many of the techniques utilized in MR imaging today were developed as a result of the various research projects conducted by Dr Ehman over the years.”