Connecting With Our Community: My First Three Months as SIIM Chair

Since becoming SIIM Board Chair in July, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with members and colleagues around the world. These conversations have helped shape my thinking about SIIM’s future and the value we bring to our members. 

In August, SIIM CEO Cheryl Carey and I attended the American College of Radiology’s Intersociety Conference in Minneapolis, where we discussed the value of professional societies and how SIIM can better serve its members. This will be an important focus for our Board of Directors over the coming months. 

While in Minnesota, we visited Mayo Clinic and met with imaging informaticists from radiology, medical physics, dermatology, and pathology, as well as radiology residents. What struck me was how much these specialties have in common. Whether it’s image sharing, implementing AI, or establishing effective governance, we’re often trying to solve the same problems. Watching the Mayo team work together across specialties was inspiring and reinforced the value of bringing different perspectives together. 

I saw that same spirit of collaboration in Singapore at the joint SGCR and AOCR meeting. I spoke about the evolution of PACS and workflow intelligence, but equally valuable were the conversations with colleagues from across Asia. Singapore also hosted the first friendship session between SIIM, EuSoMII, and SGCR. It was great to join Ravi Shrestha, Jim Whitfill, Merel Huisman, and our host, Steven Wong, in strengthening these relationships. 

Our international connections continue to grow. Ravi recently participated in a friendship session with EuSoMII and the Brazilian Society of Radiology, and next week I’ll be joining colleagues at the EuSoMII meeting in Greece. 

These experiences have reminded me that we have much to learn from one another. Our goal isn’t to bring SIIM’s solutions to the rest of the world. It’s to connect people who share an interest in imaging informatics, exchange ideas, and learn from different approaches. 

As we look ahead, we’re continuing to think about how SIIM can better serve imaging informaticists across specialties and around the world. 

You belong at SIIM. Whether you’re just starting your career or have spent decades working in imaging informatics, I hope you’ll join these conversations and help shape where we go next.