Radiology professor still teaching residents at 90 years old

At 90 years old, pioneering radiologist Harold Moskowitz, MD, continues to mentor medical students and radiology residents at the University of Connecticut.

Moskowitz is losing his vision and no longer draws a salary, but says he remains driven by his lifelong passion for teaching. A professor emeritus since retiring in 2016, he still visits UConn Health several times a week to lecture medical students and first year radiology residents. Throughout his career, which spans over six decades, the doctor estimates he has likely interpreted more than 100,000 X-rays. 

He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate College of Medicine in 1959 before completing a one-year internship at Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and a four-year radiology residency at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. After serving two years as a medical officer in the U.S. Army in Okinawa, Japan, he joined the faculty at SUNY Downstate, where he directed angiography services at both the university medical center and Kings County Hospital.  

He moved to Connecticut in 1969 to help build the radiology department at Mount Sinai Hospital in Hartford while also serving part-time on the faculty at the UConn School of Medicine, eventually returning to the university full time in 2000 to expand its radiology education programs. There, he established radiology electives, launched a summer rotation for medical students and worked to rebuild the institution's residency program. 

Moskowitz also helped found the Society of Breast Imaging, which has since grown to more than 4,200 members worldwide and is highly regarded as a prominent voice in women’s imaging.  

“I’ve always enjoyed working with medical students and residents, trying to teach the things that I’ve learned during my career,” he said in a recent interview for Today UConn. “It was my calling right from the beginning. My wife says that I’m one of the very fortunate people on this earth, because I love my job. I’ve always loved it. I never wanted to retire.” 

Moskowitz also published an autobiography, “Behind the X-Ray: A Radiologist’s Journey,” earlier this year.