Newswise — Washington, DC (May 15, 2016) — The American College of Radiology (ACR) presented its highest honor, the 2016 Gold Medal, to Walter J. Curran Jr., MD, FACR; Lawrence P. Davis, MD, FACR; and Charles D. Williams, MD, FACR, during ACR 2016—The Crossroads of Radiology® in Washington, DC. This award acknowledges distinguished and extraordinary service to the College or to the discipline of radiology.

“All three of the ACR honorees have provided visionary leadership and extraordinary service, which continue to advance high-quality patient care in the fields of radiology and radiation oncology,” said Bibb Allen Jr., MD, FACR, chair, ACR Board of Chancellors. “Drs. Curran, Davis and Williams embody the best in today’s medicine in their work as physicians and in their roles as contributors to the collective good of the profession,” he added.

Walter J. Curran Jr., MD, FACRCurran, an international expert in advanced lung cancer and malignant brain tumors, is the executive director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the Lawrence W. Davis Professor and chair in Emory's department of radiation oncology, all in Atlanta, GA. A Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and Chair in Cancer Research, he is also a group chairman of NRG Oncology, an NCI-supported cancer network group administered in part by the ACR. Responsible for defining a universally adopted staging system for patients with malignant glioma, Curran was the first radiation oncologist to serve as director of a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center.

Lawrence P. Davis, MD, FACRDavis, whose clinical interest is nuclear radiology, serves as vice chair and program director of the departments of radiology at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, and as director of special projects for the office of academic affairs at Hofstra/Northwell School of Medicine Hempstead, NY. A professor of radiology at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Davis has been active in organized radiology and radiological education. He has served as ACR’s vice president and chair of its Commission on Education as well as chair of the Radiology Residency Review Committee and president of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology.

Charles D. Williams, MD, FACRWilliams was clinical fellow and instructor in pediatric radiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine until he began practice with Radiology Associates of Tallahassee in 1974. He is affiliated with Capital Regional Medical Center and Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Hospital. Williams, who specializes in pediatric radiology and breast and diagnostic imaging, served on nearly 50 commission and committee positions in the ACR, including vice president; a member of the Board of Chancellors and Executive Committee; and chair of the Commission on Human Resources. He previously received the Florida Radiological Society Gold Medal, and the annual FRS legacy lecture was named the Charles D. Williams Legacy Lecture.

Since 1927, the ACR Gold Medal has been presented to radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other distinguished scientists for their distinguished and extraordinary service to the ACR or to the discipline of radiology.

Honorary FellowsProfessors Peter J. Hoskin of London, England, and Christoph Laurenz Zollikofer of Zurich, Switzerland, were named Honorary Fellows during ACR 2016. Hoskin is a consultant clinical oncologist at Mount Vernon Hospital and professor in clinical oncology at University College London. Zollikofer is senior consultant and chief of vascular intervention, Kantonsspital Baden, and senior consultant interventional radiology, Kantonsspital Frauenfeld. They were elected by the Board of Chancellors in recognition of preeminent contributions to the science or practice of radiology.

Distinguished Achievement AwardMary Jane Donahue of Cary, NC, former ACR assistant director, Board of Chancellors and executive projects, received the Distinguished Achievement Award. Donahue served 27 years at the ACR under two executive directors/chief executive officers and 14 Board of Chancellor chairs.

About the American College of Radiology The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care.

To arrange an interview with any ACR member, please contact Shawn Farley at 703-648-8936, Maryann Verrillo at 703-390-9822 or email [email protected].