NYU Radiology in China
Organizers of the NYU–CSR First Biennial Symposium. Dr. Dai is seated in the center to Dr. Grossman’s left.
The NYU Department of Radiology has embarked on a long-term collaborative relationship with the Chinese Society of Radiology and various academic centers in China. The idea of creating an educational and research exchange with these centers (supported by Siemens China and Siemens AG) started about five years ago, antedating the formalization of the NYU-Siemens alliance. The notion of such an exchange grew quickly; coincident with Dr. Robert Grossman’s arrival as Chairman of Radiology at NYU, Professor Jian-Ping Dai assumed the Presidency of the Chinese Society of Radiology (CSR). Dr Dai and Dr. Grossman have a long and warm professional and personal history; they were fellows together at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Professor Dai leads the movement to advance Chinese Radiology and he serves as the principal advisor for Radiology to the Chinese Ministry of Health.
The inception of the collaboration between NYU and the Chinese Society of Radiology was in October 2002 with “NYU Visiting Professorships” sponsored by Siemens China. Dr. Glenn Krinsky (former Chief of Abdominal Imaging), Janice Ford Benner (Director of Education) and Dr. Edmond Knopp (Chief of Neuroradiology) developed a program which was then delivered by Drs. Krinsky and Knopp at designated centers throughout China. The lectures were translated (thereby doubling the length of each presentation). There were four stops on the educational tour including Guanzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and participated in the Chinese National MRI Conference in Tianjian. During the visit, discussions were started with Professor Bin Song of the West China Hospital of Sichuan University (a “small” hospital of 4,000 beds in Chengdu, the capital of the Sichuan province). West China Hospital was identified by Siemens as a potential collaborative institution.
Dr. Edmond Knopp delivering a lecture at the Beijing symposium.
At the West China Hospital in Chengdu.
One year later in October 2003, NYU returned to China with a symposium modeled after our “CT/MRI Head to Toe Conference,” bringing state-of-the-art lectures to the Chinese radiology community in a forum allowing for a valuable exchange of ideas. Drs. Robert Grossman, Jill Jacobs, Vivian Lee, Georgeann McGuinness and Edmond Knopp, with Janice Ford Benner, formed this second entourage. The symposium took place in Shanghai, with over 300 Chinese radiologists in attendance, invited by the Chinese Society of Radiology. This unique meeting was the first CSR-sponsored conference with English as the official language. Professor Dai felt it important that young Chinese radiologists become more fluent in English. We used dual projection, with the slide in English on one screen and the Chinese translation on the other—another first in Chinese Radiology.
(Left to right): Dr. Jian-Ping Dai, Dr. Robert Grossman and Mr. Steve Feinberg of Siemens Medical China.
Following the Shanghai symposium, the NYU faculty delivered an abbreviated version of the conference for the faculty and staff of West China Hospital in Chengdu. At this venue our discussions with Professor Bin Song expanded to include the Chairman of Radiology and the Dean of the Medical School. This relationship has spawned two sponsored visiting scholars from West China Hospital for three-month internships at NYU.
In another interesting twist to the story, Dr. Mingquian Huang was chosen by our Residency Selection Committee to join our department in July 2005 as a first-year resident. Her grandmother, Professor Gou-Zhen Li, is one of the most highly respected radiologists in all of China and is responsible for the modernization of Chinese radiology. Madame Li also mentored Professor Dai.
Plans are now underway for another symposium in the fall of 2005 to coincide with the annual Chinese Society of Radiology meeting, the Chinese equivalent to the RSNA meeting.
It is fulfilling to appreciate the resultant mutually beneficial and collaborative nature of this liason. All parties are in agreement that this unique undertaking has been personally and professionally fulfilling. Such a far flung collaborative liason is bestowing benefits on both sides of the Pacific.