Academic Radiology - Research

[dunkindona]

Is there a strong community of serious basic physician scientists in academic radiology departments? Which institutions are best for research? Radiology never struck me as a particularly academic field...I am interested in systems neuroscience and fMRI and am looking for the best clinical complement.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[doepug]

Is there a strong community of serious basic physician scientists in academic radiology departments? Which institutions are best for research? Radiology never struck me as a particularly academic field...I am interested in systems neuroscience and fMRI and am looking for the best clinical complement.

There is a good bit of basic science in academic radiology departments, but it's somewhat more scattered than in other fields. Generally speaking, the departments with the strongest basic science research have the most competitive residencies (MIR, MGH, Penn, Hopkins, etc). Several programs offer a formal research track (with separate matching process), whereas others informally offer something akin to the Holman pathway. If you're serious about academia, there are several radiology programs that would suit you well.

 

[fedor]

I second Penn. Their CFN (Center for Functional Neuroimaging) is really at the forefront of fMRI.

 

[wannaberad]

That's nice but those are all super-competitive and I don't think they look at people from average med schools without AOA.

I guess I should go to the best one I can get into, and publish as many papers there as possible and try to work my way up...?

Or is an academic career simply not realistic?

 

[bosky]

FYI - fMRI research may be better suited to Neurology or Psychiatry training?

Keep in mind that high field fMRI will be much more robust and believable (aka 7T), so maybe consider places that are investing in higher field magnets if that is what you really want to do. Also, combining fMRI and DTI is an interesting approach that will continue to get sexier with time.