AARI 2008 ANNUAL MEETING AND DINNER was held on Monday December 1, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel

The meeting started at 6:30 pm with a social hour. This was an opportunity to meet with old friends, and, a chance to make new ones. This was a great opportunity for young radiologists to network with AARI members and RSNA attendees from India and the rest of the world. The meeting was attended by more than 100 radiologists including 13 radiologists from India and 7 from the rest of the world.

Dr. Anil Khosla, the current AARI president called the meeting to order. Officers including Dr. Roger Rodriguez (treasurer) and Dr Ajay Malpani (Secretary) were escorted to the dais. Dr Ajay Sood (Vice President) was recognized in abstentia. A welcome note was followed by introduction of all guests.

Dr. Khosla then introduced Medtronic guest speaker for the evening, Dr Labib Haddad, a practicing interventional radiologist at St John’s Mercy Hospital, St Louis. Dr Haddad discussed osteoporosis and role of “Kyphoplasty” in the treatment of spinal compression fractures. Judging by the lively participation from the audience, the talk was well received. We wish to thank Medtronic and J. Marie for sponsoring this educational program.

AARI was extremely fortunate to have Dr Robert Hattery, former Chairman of Radiology at Mayo Clinic, past President of Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and past executive director of the American Board of Radiology (ABR) in our midst.

He spoke about the “Bottlenecks in Radiology residency for Foreign Medical Graduates”. He explained the new guidelines issued by the ABR regarding the qualified overseas trained radiologists who wanted to train and practice in the USA. He has been instrumental in initiating so called ‘fifth pathway’ to get certified by the ABR. He was very appreciative of the skills and academic excellence of Radiologists trained in India and his encouraging comments for the prospects for additional training and practice in this country were the highlight of his presentation.

He explained the arduous task for ABR to assess the level of training of Indian trained Radiologists due to the lack of uniformity of training and assessment. Dr Hattery patiently answered all the questions from the attendees and residents. Dr. Khosla thanked Dr Hattery for his presentation and assured full support of AARI to ABR in helping assess the training level of Indian trained Radiologists.

Dr. Khosla in his brief address, informed the AARI members about active participation of AARI volunteer faculty in Indo-US CME programs, get-together of AARI members in ARRS, ASNR and other radiology meetings. He sought volunteers willing to share accommodation with Indian resident participants during various meetings and mentor radiology trainees to help them get into radiology residency / fellowship programs. He also explained the close association of AARI with AAPI. AAPI’s role as national health care organization, establishing FCVS, and extension of J-1 waiver program was highlighted to the AARI membership. He called upon AARI members to recruit new members and also to join and strengthen AAPI.

The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks and treasurer’s report by AARI treasurer Dr Roger Rodrigues.

Web site has new sections, functions

The AARI Web site (aariusa.org) has undergone significant changes. From being a dormant one page link, it now has become a more comprehensive resource for members of AARI and a focal point for the organization.

The changes include links on job listings, an online tool to update membership information, a members-only section where one may register and gain access to a membership directory, IMG resources, useful links, officer contacts, and a more user friendly interface. AARI will continue to improve the Web site so that it truly adds value for each member and the whole organization. Please send significant personal accomplishment or news to news@aariusa.org so we can post it on the Web site and share it with the entire membership. Any suggestions or questions regarding the Web site are more than welcome.

Resident and Fellow Section Created

Members in training are the future of our organization. To make this organization successful we need active resident participation so we have leaders who can volunteer and add to the vision of AARI in the coming years. It is easy to apply for membership as members in training. There is a membership application on the back page of this newsletter or you may download a form online at www.aariusa.org. Of course, we look forward to having all the members in training continue as life members! Remember – there is value in numbers, so do get involved!

Membership Database Improved

A report from Neeti Suri, MD

The AARI membership committee has been busy updating and improving the membership directory. With the database scattered over the three different sets of directories, the task of updating the database was like entering into a maze. However, in six months, we have reached many milestones.

1. Successfully setting up a very convenient, efficient and user-friendly online tool in the form of a, "Stay Current," Web link accessible from anywhere around the globe, anytime at www.aariusa.org on both the home and membership pages.

2. In terms of staying connected with the latest news and views from AARI , the committee has established a list-server for mass mailing to all those members who have submitted their current e-mail addresses.

3. In updating the database, the committee had a mission to get in touch with every AARI member either via e-mail or regular mail. It is our pleasure to inform you that we are already done with the task of e-mailing the update notice to all the members whose e-mail addresses were in our database and also done with the task of sending out the regular mail notification to 2000 of our members who were listed in our main directory.

4. In terms of our overall accomplishment, if you received this newsletter in the mail, we have definitely achieved something. It would not have been possible without the constant support and guidance of our president, Dr.Mukherji. So we would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to him, our webmaster and all the other AARI officers for their time, efforts, support and valuable suggestions.

In the end, I thank all those members who took time to update their profiles and I would like to make a request to all those who have yet to submit their current profiles to please do so because, “Staying Current,” with AARI has never been so convenient-- it's only a few clicks away!

Update Your Member Information

As many of you know we are in the process of updating our database. If you have not updated your membership information with AARI, please do so by visiting our Web site at aariusa.org and then clicking on the link, "Stay Current.” You may also update by sending your contact details to Neet Suri at neeti_suri86@yahoo.com. Your time and attention will be greatly appreciated.

Message From AARI Member and AAPI President Jagan Ailinani

On behalf of AAPI, I extend my warmest greetings to the members of the American Association of Radiologists of Indian Origin. I would like to thank my fellow radiologists for their support during my presidency. As an umbrella organization, AAPI derives its strength from member organizations such as AARI. Working together, we can achieve our common goals.

At AAPI, we have had to face many challenges, but we have pulled through successfully and grown stronger as a team. Our executive team is working hard to strengthen the organizational structure and streamlining the functioning of our office. We are bringing greater fiscal responsibility, improving communications and enhancing member services. I am proud and humbled by our accomplishments. The following is a brief report of our activities since July 2004.

We achieved a J-1 Visa Victory when our lobbying efforts were successful in getting the J-1 visa waiver program extended for another two years. Practice Management Seminars have been conducted with several local chapters across the country. Clinical Externship Programs are being established in Texas, Connecticut, and Washington, DC to help newly arrived physicians from India get into residency programs. Ethics and Grievance help was given to about 25 Indian physicians by the committee headed by Dr. Rakesh Chandra, MD, JD, on issues such as contracts, licensure, peer review, removal of medical students and residents from their program, and criminal cases such as sexual harassment. The AAPI Research Project on diabetes among Indian Americans (DIA) is proceeding well and the final report is due to CDC by September this year. In the aftermath of the Tsunami, the AAPI Charitable Foundation donated $55,000 for immediate relief. A fourth AAPI-AIF Hospital was inaugurated this January in Gujarat. Health Camps and CMEs were conducted in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala and Karnataka. A Lawsuit on AAPI Elections was dismissed by the courts and the appeal was withdrawn by the petitioner. The incident is now well and truly behind us. Embezzlement of AAPI funds amounting to more than $100,000 was discovered and the employee involved was terminated. The matter is being investigated and audit was done with help of external auditor. All the diverted money, $174,000, was recovered. The AAPI 23rd Annual Convention was very uccessful.

It has been my great privilege to serve as your president. I thank you with my heart for the trust you reposed in me. I look forward to seeing you all in AARI meetings and at RSNA

Jagan Ailinani, MD, FACR, president, AAPI

Indian Radiologists Continue Successes

Numerous Indian Radiologists continue to excel in academic radiology. Sanjay Saini was recently named Chair of Radiology. Vikram Dogra received the Larry Mack award. Many Indian radiologists received prestigious awards this year from RSNA.

Smita Patel, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR
GE Medical Systems/RSNA Research Scholar Grant
Department of Radiology
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, MI
"ECG-gated 16-slice CT Coronary Angiography: Comparison with Catheter Coronary Angiography"

Srini Tridandapani, MD
Siemens Medical Solutions, Inc./RSNA Research Resident Grant
Radiology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
"Achieving Optimal Gating for Cardiac Computed Tomography"

Mannudeep Karanvir Singh Kalra, MBBS, MD, DNB
Hitachi Medical Systems/RSNA Research Seed Grant
Radiology
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA
"A basic research study to evaluate the distribution, localization and pharmacokinetics of a new PET radiopharmaceutical agent 18-F Fluorothymidine in subjects with pancreatic cancer"

Syam Vasireddy
Philips Medical Systems/RSNA Medical Student Scholar Assistant
Assistant to Reed A. Omary, MD
Department of Radiology
Northwestern University Medical School
Chicago, IL

"Real-Time Magnetic Resonance-Guided Endovascular Treatment of Renal Artery Stenosis in a Swine Model"

University of California, San Francisco
RSNA Medical Student Departmental
Department of Radiology
San Francisco, CA
Advisor: Gautham P. Reddy, MD
Student: Gita Varaprasathan
Ronald L. Arenson, MD, Chair

"MRI-Guided Cardiovascular Therapy"

Please contribute to the Susruta Foundation, the charitable arm of AARI. Money will be used for the AARI Visiting Scholar program and other educational activities in India. Your contributions are tax deductible.

To make donations or to get more information please contact Roger Rodrigues, MD, 630-887-7812, e-mail roger7@earthlink.net.