Early Funding puts Scientist on
Ground Floor of Spiral CT
Geoffrey Rubin, M.D. took an early interest in research, writing and presenting his first research papers at the RSNA annual meeting as a second-year resident. But it took some convincing to believe a career in academia was for him.
“I have a lot of respect for the giants who have contributed to the field of radiologic research,” says Dr. Rubin, now professor of Radiology at Stanford University School of Medicine and Chief of Cardiovascular Imaging. “I didn’t think I could necessarily walk with them. It took me a long time to believe that I could follow in their path.”
In 1994, Dr. Rubin earned a RSNA/GE Medical Systems Research Scholar Grant. Combined with another career development grant, the R&E funding gave Dr. Rubin the critical mass to win a $2 million R01 grant from the NIH, the first of two he has received during his career.
“It’s critical to build a portfolio of research and a track record of success in order to be competitive for federal grants,” says Dr. Rubin, adding that the type of support offered by the R&E Foundation is unique.
“The R&E Foundation support is fantastic, it has the most opportunities to offer radiologists,” he says. “It’s a safe haven for research support.”
Armed with funding and on faculty at Stanford, Dr. Rubin was able to get in on the ground floor of a new technology—spiral CT. His research helped replace catheter angiography with the highly effective, less invasive CT angiography, now the primary tool for diagnosing aortic and vascular diseases.
“It was exciting to be part of a groundbreaking technology,” says Dr. Rubin. “I have found my research very gratifying.”
There’s no question that Dr. Rubin, who also helped establish one of the first 3-D labs in the country, has blazed his own trail in the last decade and a half. In addition to studying the effect of CAD on coronary CT angiography and investigating the use of CAD in detecting lung nodules, he has a new textbook on CT and MR angiography due to be published this winter.
