The RSNA torch has been passed: Dr. Sarah S. Donaldson will be its next president, the Society announced Wednesday, Nov. 28 2012. Donaldson works in Stanford, California, where she is a professor of radiation oncology at Stanford University, serves as associate residency program director of radiation oncology at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and is the chief of radiation oncology service at Lucile Salter Packer Children's Hospital at Stanford.
As president, Donaldson plans to provide more services to international members while continuing to support education, patient-centered care and technological innovation in the radiologic sciences.
"I am proud to promote the RSNA mission around the world," she said in an official statement. "My goal is to enhance collaborations and partnerships amongst the radiologic sciences worldwide to provide efficient, safe and cost-effective use of imaging."
Her career as part of RSNA began in 2003, when she was elected second vice president. In 2005, she was elected to the board of directors and served as the liaison for publications and communications from 2007 to 2010 - fitting, as Donaldson has authored or coauthored more than 220 scientific articles, 81 book chapters and review articles and two books. She served as chairman of RSNA from 2010 to 2011 and as president-elect from 2011 to 2012.
In addition to her involvement with RSNA, Donaldson was the first female president of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the American Board of Radiology.
Donaldson received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1968 and completed her internship in general medicine at the University of Washington Hospitals in 1969. Also in that year, she began her radiation oncology residency at Stanford University Hospital. After completing a brief pediatric oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston in 1972, she completed a pediatric oncology fellowship year abroad at the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Villejuif, France.
Her work in radiology has been awarded several times over the course of her career. She is a recipient of the Marie Curie Award of the American Association for Women Radiologists and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for the American Medical Women's Association. She is also one of only a few radiologists who are members of the Institute of Medicine.
