The following article is transcribed from the SIR 2025 Sunday plenary session.
The 2025 SIR Foundation Leader in Innovation Award was granted to four individuals this year in recognition of their work to develop the IR residency.
“The Leader in Innovation Award is the highest honor presented by SIR Foundation, recognizing groundbreaking innovation in interventional radiology,” said Maureen P. Kohi, MD, FSIR, during the SIR 2025 Opening Plenary. “This prestigious award celebrates IR's incredible history of transformative advancements that have revolutionized patient care over the past 36 years.”
This year, the SIR Foundation Board of Directors voted to give the Leader in Innovation Award to a team of four: John A. Kaufman, MD, FSIR; Jeanne M. LaBerge, MD, FSIR; M. Victoria Marx, MD, FSIR; and Matthew A. Mauro, MD, FSIR. This team was instrumental in establishing the IR residency, which is considered one of the most monumental changes in IR over the past 2 decades, according to Dr. Kohi.
“When we think of successful innovation, people tend to think about widgets, gadgets, new procedures or new techniques, but the reality is that innovation is much more than that. For it to be successful, you need leadership. In fact, this group provided the kind of leadership that allowed us to make the incredible changes necessary to become a discipline,” said Barry T. Katzen, MD, FSIR, in his testimonial.
Meet the awardees
Dr. Mauro is the James H. Scatliff Distinguished Professor of Radiology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he has held various key leadership roles. He was instrumental in advancing interventional radiology training and led the development of the IR/DR certificate through the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Dr. Mauro received the SIR Gold Medal in 2014.
Dr. LaBerge is professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, and former chief of interventional radiology at UCSF's Mount Zion Hospital. Throughout her career, she held key leadership roles, including trustee of the American Board of Radiology and member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Radiology Residency Review Committee. Dr. LaBerge received the SIR Gold Medal in 2017.
Dr. Marx is the clinical professor of radiology at the University of Southern California. She played a pivotal leadership role in developing and implementing the IR/DR residency following ACGME approval in 2014. Dr. Marx received the SIR Gold Medal in 2022.
Dr. Kaufman is the Frederick S. Keller Professor of Interventional Radiology at the Oregon Health and Science University and president-elect of the American Board of Radiology. He chaired the SIR/ABR Primary Certificate Task Force, leading to the recognition of IR as a primary specialty by the ABMS. Dr. Kaufman received the SIR Gold Medal in 2018.
Building a new paradigm
Led by Dr. Mauro, the team played a pivotal role in crafting the IR residency curriculum, navigating significant challenges to secure acceptance by peer specialists and the ABMS. The hard-earned designation as a primary specialty was an achievement of more than 10 years in the making, requiring meticulous change management as the subspecialty of diagnostic radiology became the 37th ABMS primary specialty and the fourth primary certificate of the ABR.
“These doctors have impacted the industry, primarily in education, by adapting methods to train future IRs to improve patient care,” said Jim C. Anderson, MD, during his video testimonial. “They had the foresight to understand what was going to be needed 10, 15 and 20 years in the future, and then moved on a pathway to develop the industry as a specialized training method to help patients.”
This achievement has solidified IR as a desirable and essential specialty, cementing its status as one of the most competitive specialties for medical students.
Dr. Mauro accepted the award on behalf of his fellow winners, stating that even as early as 1999, leaders from the ABR, the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD) and SIR were discussing new paradigms of IR training.
It wasn’t until 2006, according to Dr. Mauro, that true action began when SIR began working to define the practice of IR, including periprocedural care and consultation—in other words, to create a new certificate and training program in IR, resulting in a new specialty.
“In the United States, recognition of a new specialty in medicine and the adoption of a new resident training program is exceedingly difficult. It does not happen very often,” Dr. Mauro said. This effort was successful for two main reasons: the support of the IR community, and because incorporating clinical care into the fabric of IR was right and necessary. “SIR and SIR Foundation should take great pride in this accomplishment, one that we are certain will improve the lives of our patients and advance the field for years to come,” Dr. Mauro said.
