University of Utah radiology chair stepping down after decade on job
The University of Utah’s radiology chair is stepping down after more than a decade on the job, the Salt Lake City-based institution announced Thursday.
Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, first took on the title in November 2014 and has helped the school achieve international recognition as a “model of academic radiology excellence.” Since his appointment, Utah’s imaging faculty has more than doubled, with its members receiving national awards and assuming leadership posts on professional societies.
“Minoshima deeply appreciates the relentless dedication of faculty and staff in pursuing its triple mission,” the University of Utah said in a Sept. 4 announcement, adding that the 2025 Radiological Society of North America Gold Medal winner plans to remain on staff at U of U Health “following a period of well-deserved rest and self-care.”
The university has named Charles (Chuck) Ray, MD, PhD, as interim chair of its Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, effective Sept. 8. He also will continue in his clinical role as an interventional radiologist, along with serving as editor for the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology. Ray is a nationally recognized leader in academic radiology, first joining U of U Health last year. Prior to that, he served as chair of radiology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago and is a past president of the Society of Interventional Radiology.
Minoshima’s tenure also has included the establishment of the “pioneering” IMAGER—the first fully integrated finance and operations model. This has delivered “substantial value” to the health system, Utah noted, sustaining a compound annual growth rate of more than 14% over the last decade. Its success has been driven by numerous accomplishments, the school said. These have included the expansion of advanced imaging resources and facilities across multiple sites, the creation of new sections and leadership roles, integration of teleradiology, 24/7 faculty coverage, and rapid growth in interventional radiology.
Utah also touted the establishment of the “Reading Room of the Future” at U of U Health and expanded interventional suites at its Clinical Neurosciences Center and Huntsman Cancer Institute.
“The department’s prominence also extended to research and education,” the announcement noted. “Ranked No. 7 in NIH funding among public university radiology departments in 2019, it is home to several of the nation’s top-funded investigators and maintains advanced infrastructure, including four research MRI scanners, while leading focused ultrasound, CT, cardiac and vascular imaging, and neuroscience.”
Minoshima completed his residency at Chiba University in Japan where he also obtained his PhD in radiological sciences. He specializes in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, is a past president of SNMMI and is the recipient of numerous awards, also including the American Roentgen Ray Society’s Gold Medal.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.