Another view of IRIYA 2011

Nasreen Mahomed

(University of the Wiwatersrand)

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) provides international radiologists and radiology residents the opportunity to attend a special research seminar held in conjunction with the RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting at McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois. The focus of this seminar is to encourage radiologists from outside North America to pursue careers in academic radiology, and is supported by the RSNA.

I was privileged to be one of 16 radiologists from around the world accepted for the IRIYA 2011 programme. McCormick Place is one of the largest conference centres in the world, with around 60 000 delegates attending the 2011 congress, so the orientation and welcome reception by D Tokarski and F Miller for the IRIYA delegates was most helpful. The IRIYA programme directed by Dr J Eng and Dr W Mayo-Smith was very well organised. A detailed programme and relevant reading material were sent to all IRIYA participants well in advance, facilitating more interactive sessions. Some sessions were combined with the Introduction to Academic Radiology Seminar for North American residents, while other sessions were dedicated to IRIYA participants.

Particularly relevant lectures included Opportunities in Translational Research and Quantitative Imaging by Professor K Macura; Research Opportunities in Informatics by Dr N Safdar; Statistics by A Frangos; and Radiology Research: Deductions from the Literature and How They May Be Applied to Your Research by Professor R Hichwa. The RSNA Grant Programs and Education Resources seminar by F Miller, E Pietrzak and S Walter introduced delegates to the many research grants, opportunities and resources offered by the RSNA to international radiologists. During the research seminar, all IRIYA delegates were given the opportunity to present a current research proposal, which was critically evaluated by a panel. I found this particularly useful as my moderator Professor J Blickman and panelists Professor S Voss and Dr W Willinek were experienced and objective.

The IRIYA programme was an excellent opportunity to network and meet international mentors, researchers and colleagues, facilitating opportunities for future collaborative research projects. It was also most inspiring to meet previous attendees of the IRIYA programme and hear of their accomplishments in research internationally, since their attendance.

In addition to the IRIYA programme (where all sessions were compulsory), I was able to attend the early morning and late afternoon refresher and multisession courses. I found the paediatric imaging and breast imaging series to be particularly relevant. The information gained is already being used to update certain protocols – in particular, breast MRI imaging at my institution.

I take this opportunity to thank Professor V Mngomezulu for nominating me for this programme, the RSNA for providing me with this outstanding opportunity, and the Radiological Society of South Africa (RSSA), President Dr C Sperryn and Congress Chairman Professor L J van Rensburg, for facilitating this opportunity through the RSSA’s affiliation and collaboration with the RSNA. I also thank Professors V Mngomezulu and S Andronikou and Dr I Nagdee for supporting me with research. As I am currently working on several research projects with radiologists, registrars and clinicians, this programme will help to strengthen research in our institution.

To conclude: the 2011 IRIYA programme was an excellent platform for building a successful career as a South African researcher and academic in diagnostic radiology and collaborating at an international level.