SIIM Honors Pioneers and Rising Stars in Imaging Informatics at SIIM26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Leesburg, VA – June 16, 2026 

The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) celebrated excellence and innovation in imaging informatics during its SIIM26 Annual Meeting, held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Bringing together leaders, innovators, and emerging voices from across the enterprise imaging community, the SIIM Annual Meeting underscores the Society’s mission to advance imaging informatics through education, research, strategic technical leadership, and community. 

A centerpiece of the meeting is the recognition of individuals and teams whose work is shaping the future of imaging informatics. During SIIM26, the Society presented its annual awards and recognition, honoring outstanding achievements, leadership, and contributions across the field. 

“Each year at SIIM, we have the privilege of recognizing individuals whose work is transforming the way imaging data is used to improve patient care,” said SIIM Chair Nabile Safdar, MD, FSIIM. “Their innovation, leadership, and dedication continue to move the field forward and inspire the next generation of imaging informatics professionals.” 

“These honorees represent the best of our community—pioneers pushing boundaries as well as rising stars bringing fresh ideas and energy,” added SIIM CEO Cheryl Kreider Carey, MBA, CAE. “Their contributions are critical to advancing enterprise imaging and delivering meaningful impact across healthcare.”  

The following awards and recognitions were presented at this year’s Annual Meeting:

College of SIIM Fellows – New Inductees 

Meet the latest honorees of the College of SIIM Fellows: 

• Woojin Kim, MD, FSIIM. HOPPR  

• Mohannad Hussain, CIIP, FSIIM, Techie Maestro

These exceptional individuals were recognized for their outstanding achievements and talents on June 10. Their induction showcases the highest standards of excellence within SIIM.   

The Samuel J. Dwyer, III, PhD, FSIIM Memorial Lecture

The Annual Dwyer Lecture honors the legacy of Samuel J. Dwyer III, PhD—a humble and prolific pioneer of digital medical imaging—and features a SIIM Fellow presenting a particularly relevant and thought-provoking topic in the field of imaging informatics.

The 2026 Dwyer Lecture has been awarded to Tessa Cook, MD, PhD, CIIP, FSIIM, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Practice Transformation in Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, for her presentation titled  The People You Meet in Imaging Informatics.  

Honorary Awards

Individual achievements were recognized in the field of medical imaging informatics through the following  Honorary Awards:

The Gold Medal of the Society Award – Marc Kohli, MD, FSIIM, University of California, San Francisco 

The Dr. Joe Gitlin Award –Brad Erickson, MD, PhD, FSIIM, Mayo Clinic, Rochester  

The Dr. Ruth Dayhoff Award for the Advancement of Women in Medical Imaging Informatics – Elizabeth Krupinski, PhD, FSIIM, Emory University 

The Early Career Achievement Awards 
Academic – Bardia Khosravi, MD, MPH, MHPE, Yale School of Medicine
Industry – Alexis Laugerette, MSc, Siemens Healthineers 

The Educator Award –Jay Crawford, DHA, CIIP, Mosaic Clinical Technologies 

The Imaging Informatics Innovator Awards 
Academic - George Shih, MD, MS — Weill Cornell Medical Center 
Industry – John Paulett, MS — HOPPR

Scientific Awards

Best Scientific Paper Award

Lev (Leo) Barinov, MD, PhD, Radiology Resident, University of Pennsylvania
Automated Multi Planar Reconstruction of the Thyroid Gland from Ultrasound Cine Clips

Honorable Mention
Aditya Kulkarni, MS, Research Engineer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Data Hygiene at Scale: A Contrastive Learning Framework for Auditing Data Provenance and Overlap

 The Roger A. Bauman, MD Award

Dennis Dwan, MD, Breast Imaging Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital for AI-Based Decision Support for Breast Ultrasound May Reduce Follow-Up Imaging of Benign Breast Findings in Women Under 30 Years of Age 

The Helen and Paul Chang Foundation New Investigator Travel Awards 

Awarded to new investigators with an area of study in imaging informatics who either are currently in a full-time training program or have completed their training program within two years of the SIIM Annual Meeting. 

Preetham Bachina, MSE,  Medical Student, Dual-Affiliate, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 
Lost in Translation: International Limitations of Deep Learning Demographic Classifiers Developed on US Imaging Datasets
Abstract Presented in  2030 | AI Ecosystems in Imaging Scientific Research Abstracts 

Shahriar Faghani, MD, Radiology Resident, University of Pennsylvania
CONrep: Improving Reliability of Vision-language Report Generation via Conformal Prediction
Abstract Presented in 3026 | Multimodal and Foundation Models Scientific Research Abstracts 

Anusha Kanagala, MS, Student, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Fastradiomics: Accelerating High-Throughput Texture Feature Extraction Via Just-in-time Compilation and Vectorization
Abstract Presented in 3009 | Methods and Infrastructure for AI Scientific Research Abstracts 

Thangalakshmi Sivathapandi, MD, Resident, Emory University
Improving Patient Image Access and Workflow Efficiency Through a MyChart Imaging Results Link: Operational, Financial, and Regulatory Impact
Abstract Presented in 2022 | Enterprise Imaging Scientific Research Abstracts  

Scientific Posters and Demonstration Awards

1st Place 

Yasna Soto, Medical Technologist, Project Manager, Teacher, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins
Design and Prototyping of an Ophthalmology Enterprise Imaging Workflow Connecting Primary and Secondary Care in a Public Health Network 

2nd Place 

Irene Lee, MD, Resident, Emory University
Radiology AI-Driven Decision Support for MR Safety (RadSafe) 

Honorable Mention 

Berkman Sahiner, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, US Food and Drug Administration
Development of Regulatory Science Tools for the Assessment of AI-Enabled Medical Devices 

Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine (JIIM) Awards

Using a peer review process, the following scientific awards were presented for outstanding contributions to the field of medical imaging informatics: 

Best Scientific Paper Award for Children Are Not Small Adults 

Co-First Authors: Dr. Devina Chatterjee and Dr. Adway Kanhere, Johns Hopkins University 

Corresponding Author: Paul Yi, Johns Hopkins University & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Best JIIM Reviewer Award presented to Jan Hurtado, PhD, Tecgraf Institute of Technical 

SIIM Hackathon

The Hackathon allows Informaticists to come up with innovative ideas that can change the way health information systems work, communicate, and interact with each other. The following teams were awarded: 

1st Place – adGuide: A Pre-Order Imaging Copilot for Non-Radiologists – Team RadGuide Aaron Li, Adam Rushford, Michael Olufawo, Caleb Hester, Nick Atwood, Yash Saboo 

2nd Place – Clean up in Bay 5 (CUB5) – Will Ricamato, Abigail Bunch, Delaney McElvain, Alex Barrington 

3rd Place – RADReachy, Brad Genereaux 

Best Open-Source – RADReachy  

Best HL7 FHIR – Hook, Line, FHIR: A CDS Hooks Framework for Automated Radiology Follow-Up and Reporting

Best DICOMweb – DIPS – DICOM IPS 

Best Security – Hook, Line, FHIR: A CDS Hooks Framework for Automated Radiology Follow-Up and Reporting

Audience Choice Award Winner – DIPS – DICOM IPS:  Mohannad Hussain, Ameen Hussain, Meena Hussain

Annual Meeting Awards

 This series of awards celebrates excellence in imaging informatics recognizing the outstanding individuals and teams honored for their achievements, innovation, and contributions to the field. 

AI Play Station – Catch the Air: 5-min Fine-Tuning Challenge

The AI Playground features hands-on AI activities available to attendees in the Expo Hall. The top three leaderboard places recognize the highest-performing participants in one of the activities rewarding excellence in this interactive, AI-powered radiology education. 

First Place Mark Jones, High Plains Radiology

Second Place Vivek Bansal, MD, PhD Kelsey-Seybold Clinic

Third Place Yamlak Bogale, PhD, Indiana University 

SIIM Travel Scholarships

Inaugural Annual Meeting travel scholarships for trainees made possible through SIIMfund, SIIM’s philanthropic initiative supporting the advancement of imaging informatics. 

NIIC Alumni Travel Scholars 

• Vidya Viswanathan, MBBS, Emory University 

• Neil Bhatia, MD, Mass General Brigham 

 

Hackathon Travel Scholars 

• Nick Attwood, Oregon Health & Science University 

• Julianne Browne, Marquette University 

• Caleb Hester, Loma Linda University Health 

• Michael Olufawo, MD, MBA, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University 

• Yash Sachin Saboo, University of Texas at Austin

About the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine

The Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) is the leading healthcare professional organization for those interested in the current and future use of informatics in medical imaging. The Society’s mission is to advance medical imaging informatics across the Enterprise through education, research, and innovation in a multi-disciplinary community.