RSNA Annual Meeting Facilitates Great Connections

The RSNA annual meeting, often referred to as RSNA by attendees, is the optimal opportunity to network and reconnect with radiology colleagues from around the world.

Dana Alkhulaifat, MD, is a medical graduate from Jordan currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the field of radiology. She has met up with her father, Samih Alkhulaifat, MD, senior consultant radiologist at King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan, at the meeting the last three years. Her father has been attending RSNA for more than 30 years.

“My father was a big influence on why I want to become a radiologist. I grew up being very curious about radiology while shadowing my dad as a kid, but I would say I truly fell in love with it during medical school,” Dr. Alkhulaifat said.

During RSNA 2023, Dr. Alkhulaifat presented her first session, which was an opportunity for her father to hear her speak about her research. It also was a chance for him to meet with her mentors at CHOP.

Jonathan Revels, DO, clinical assistant professor of body imaging for the Department of Radiology at New York University (NYU)–Langone Health in New York, enjoys coming to RSNA because of the opportunities to network and meet potential mentors.

“I remember meeting two key people during my first RSNA as a resident,” Dr. Revels said. “The first was David Yousem, who was hosting a lunchtime table meet and greet in the resident area. I was so excited to meet one of the top neuroradiologists and co-author of one of my favorite neuroradiology books. The second person I met was Myles Taffel, who is now my faculty mentor at NYU.”

For many RSNA attendees, one of the many benefits of attending the meeting is the opportunity to meet in person after connecting over social media. Elena Greco, MD, who recently finished her research fellowship at Mayo Clinic Florida to start her residency, and Parisa Khoshpouri, MD, a postdoc research scholar at SUNY Upstate Medical University and originally from Iran, connected on X about Dr. Greco’s research on advanced imaging techniques and 7T for pre-operative planning for deep brain stimulation. During RSNA 2023, the two met in person.

“Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Khoshpouri and we connected almost instantly. We are both active on X, so when we finally met in person, it felt like we already knew each other,” Dr. Greco said.

For some attendees, RSNA is an opportunity to reconnect with former colleagues. Anne Darrow, MD, breast imaging specialist at the University of Chicago, and Sherif El-Sherif, MD, body imaging fellow at Stanford University, CA, met as co-interns at a small community hospital in Chicago in 2019. They each completed residency in different states and now live thousands of miles apart. Each year, they meet up at the annual meeting. Dr. Darrow also met mentors and joined a new professional group following an RSNA meeting.

“I attended a speed mentoring event at RSNA 2019 organized by the American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR),” Dr. Darrow said. “I joined the organization, became involved with their events and eventually joined the board. Coming full circle, I have helped to organize the AAWR RSNA speed mentoring events for the past few years. I am so grateful that RSNA fosters opportunities like this.”

This story has been edited.  Read the full story at RSNA.org/News.