President's Update

Dear Members,

I am providing you this newsletter to update you on the events of the SGR since our last meeting in California. Our Society is healthy, and lots of exciting work is ongoing as we plan our merger with the SUR into the Society of Abdominal Radiology in March.

Our annual meeting in Carlsbad was successful. Over 630 attendees were present and between the two societies, our membership provided 61 scientific presentations, 46 plenary lectures, and 142 workshops. The meeting continues to be a wonderful combination of world class lectures, scientific reports, academic networking and friendship building. We want to preserve these components of the meeting as we build a new future together in a single abdominal imaging society. Financially, we were successful with the help of our corporate sponsors. Our meeting revenues exceeded expenses by $101,270.18.

The international educational outreach team travelled to Cartagena, Colombia the first week in August. Team members included C. Dan Johnson, Giles Boland, Tracy Jaffe, Jorge Soto and Benjamin Yeh. We joined the Colombian Radiologic Congress, and provided 2.5 days of lectures in a separate concurrent lecture hall. More than 800 registrants attended the meeting, and our sessions were very well attended. Out team did an outstanding job. We were treated like royalty, enjoying the beaches, the sea, the city and lots of camaraderie. Colombia is a welcoming and beautiful country that I would like to visit again. A special thanks to Jorge Soto for his unbelievable assistance in making the trip so memorable.

The combined Boards of the SGR and SUR met in Houston for a strategic planning retreat this summer. The focus of the meeting was to begin the planning of the SAR as a Society with the goal to meet all of the professional needs of our members. This will require an expansion of our mission beyond the usual annual meeting. In a nutshell the following areas will be or are currently under development:

1. Annual meeting . Transition the posters and syllabus to electronic formats, and make them available on our website after the meeting. Segments of the plenary session will be videotaped and available for purchase if you are unable to attend in person. We are exploring the possibility of Internet access within the main meeting room to allow social networking as a component of our question and answer sessions. We will begin an “essentials course” as a track during the workshops—a program that will be of interest to residents preparing for Boards and others preparing for ABR recertification. Expanded interactive workshops will be supported, beginning with a new program on prostate imaging.
2. Website . A new website is being constructed for the SAR that will contain a career center, which can be accessed now via the SGR and SUR websites, updated meeting, committee and membership information, access to social networking (Facebook), and other items of professional and educational interest.
3. Journal . We are exploring the possibility of working with a journal more closely, to enhance the academic content of our meeting and the ability of our academic members to publish easily.
4. Political influence . We are exploring closer relationships with the American College of Radiology to better represent our Society in political issues that affect us.
5. Quality and Safety . We will explore development and posting of abdominal imaging specific quality and safety projects that will satisfy requirements for ABR Maintenance of Certification part IV. This service will enable members to more easily find projects within their field of expertise, and have colleagues that can be contacted for questions and advice on improvements.
6. Improved networking . The website and Facebook accounts will assist with networking throughout the year. In addition, selected small groups working on state of the art research projects will be assisted during the meeting with meeting space to facilitate research, collaboration and sharing of scientific information.
7. Call for Applications . We are now accepting applications for the 2012 SGR Wylie J. Dodds Research Award and the Howard S. Stern Research Grant. Please access the SGR website, www.sgr.org to review the application requirements. All applications are requested by October 7 th.
8. International Outreach Initiative . For 2012, Dr. Stuart Silverman, the first president of the Society of Abdominal Radiology will lead a selected number of SAR members to Guatemala to participate in MAYARAD 2012, September 27-29. Information on how to apply can also be found on the SGR website. All applications are requested by October 14 th.

The annual meeting will be held in Scottsdale, AZ at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Hotel, March 25-30. The hotel is beautiful and the meeting space is optimal for our groups. We have a great program planned, and lots of workshops (as always). Interactive workshops on CT colonography, small bowel imaging and prostate imaging will be offered this year. The “Essentials Course” in abdominal imaging will begin the first of a two year cycle. Electronic posters will be utilized for the first time, so that you can download them on your computer or tablet. Be sure and bring these with you—so you can take advantage of the entire meeting efficiently. Our Canon Lecture will be given by Dr. Bernard Levin, long time leader of the American Cancer Society, Colon Cancer Early Detection Branch. The ESGAR lecture will be given by Dr. Simon Jackson from the United Kingdom on optimizing oesophageal cancer staging. With your help, we are striving for the best annual meeting ever! Of course, there will be lots of fun things to do too. Baseball’s Cactus League spring training games will be available for the sports fans. Golfing is available at the famous TPC course, and at numerous other courses in the valley. Late March is a good time for warm and sunny weather in Scottsdale—so our fingers are crossed that you can gather the vitamin D you have lost over the long winter months. Scottsdale offers lots of shopping, museums (be sure and visit the Herd Museum if you are interested in southwest Indian heritage and our new music museum), jeep rides, hiking, biking, hot air ballooning, and myriad places to dine. It all adds up to a week that you will not want to miss. Please plan to come.

This is really an exciting time for our Society as we celebrate the merger of the SGR and the SUR, and the beginning of the SAR at the conclusion of the March meeting. Together, we will be stronger and better than ever before.

Best and warm personal regards to you all,

C. Dan Johnson, M.D.
2011-2012 SGR President