Chairman of the Board, San Francisco, CA
Ronald L. Arenson, M.D., is chairman of the RSNA Board of Directors for 2013. Dr. Arenson is the Alexander R. Margulis Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California San Francisco.
As chairman, Dr. Arenson will support RSNA's mission to promote excellence in patient care through education, research and technological innovation. "I am hopeful that during the coming year, we can focus attention on informatics, especially on providing RSNA members with useful informatics tools to help them in their careers," he said.
Dr. Arenson also believes it is crucial to reach out to international members and societies. "The RSNA annual meeting is extremely important to radiologists around the globe. Our new emphasis on international relationships will translate into a number of new programs designed for the international professional," he said.
Author or coauthor of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, four book chapters, three books and numerous exhibits, audiovisuals, abstracts and editorials, Dr. Arenson has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including Radiology, Investigative Radiology, Journal of Digital Imaging, Academic Radiology and Journal of the American College of Radiology. He has been an invited lecturer nationally and internationally at nearly 250 universities and institutes.
Dr. Arenson's service to numerous medical societies and organizations includes positions with the American Association for Medical Systems and Informatics, American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) and the American College of Radiology (ACR). He is past-president of the Association of University Radiologists, Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments and the Academy of Radiology Research. He is the recipient of many honors including the Alumni Medal of Honor from New York Medical College.
Among Dr. Arenson's research achievements is the development of a catheter that can be steered in a magnetic field allowing interventional radiologists to reach further into smaller blood vessels. Dr. Arenson and fellow researchers filed a patent on the invention in 2001. The patent was recently nominated for a national fair on technology, and Dr. Arenson is now working with faculty on the next stage prototype.
A member of RSNA since 1974, Dr. Arenson has served on numerous committees, such as the Publications and Education Committee, Public Information Advisors Network, Research Development Committee and the Radiology Informatics Committee (formerly Electronic Communications Committee), of which he served as chairman from 1999 to 2005. In 2007, he was elected to the RSNA Board of Directors and has served as the Board liaison for the annual meeting and technology.