Many interventional radiologists describe the IR community as a family—but for some IRs, it really is. In his 2010 Charles T. Dotter Lecture, Michael C. Soulen, MD, FSIR, spoke about IR families, inspired by his own experiences as a second generation IR. His mother, Renate L. Soulen, MD, FSIR, was a Founding Fellow of SIR, and inspired his future career. In it, he shared the stories of some founding IR families and speculated on what the future may look like for the next iteration of IR families. At SIR 2025,many of those families came together to celebrate 50 years of SIR. The new generations of IR families look different and have come to IR from different paths—but all are united by a passion and excitement for the specialty.
Lewis M. Halin, DO, FSIR, and Neil J. Halin, DO, FSIR
Dr. Lewis Halin attends the 2025 SIR Fellows Dinner.
Dr. Lewis Halin was one of the first DOs to be inducted as a fellow into SIR and was the first angiographer at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Neil Halin completed his fellowship at Tufts Medical Center and has since gone on to be chief of IR at Tufts where he has worked with residents, navigated clinical trials and device development. He is now partially retired and spends his free time managing his 54-acre farm and BMW-based endurance racing team.
What was it like growing up in an IR household?
Neil J. Halin, DO, FSIR: My mom was an X-ray tech at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, so I came from an X-ray family. I remember my dad working long hours. As a kid, I played in the radiology department, and I remember their first automatic film processor. My dad would go to work wearing the red goggles they had to wear so their eyes stayed dark. As I got older, my dad brought me to Philly Angio Club meetings, RSNA and then eventually SCVIR.
What made you choose IR?
NH: I started out as an internal medicine resident, and I dabbled in emergency medicine. Radiology was cool but IR (special procedures, as we called it then) was even cooler. There were new and fascinating procedures, along with imaging PLUS patient care!
What excites you about the future of IR?
NH: I have lived through IR’s ups, downs and re-ups. We have proven that we are resourceful. We use our imaging smarts to help create new techniques, procedures and tools to treat our patients in a caring, efficient and effective way. I absolutely loved caring for patients over the years and watching families grow. It is the best satisfaction I can think of. Today, as in the beginning, IR has some hard questions to answer. What do we want to be? How strongly are we willing to fight to become that?
Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, and Ghassan Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD
Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, is a PGY-5 diagnostic radiology resident at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences(UAMS). He is a co-chair of the Resident Advocacy Subcommittee for SIR’s Government Affairs Committee. His father, Ghassan Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD, graduated from Damascus University, Syria in 1989. He then pursued radiology residency and subsequently interventional radiology fellowship in Montpelier, France. He currently resides and works in Saudi Arabia.
What was it like growing up in an IR household?
Anas Sayed Suliman Atassi, MD: Growing up, I remember my dad was around most evenings. He prioritized spending time with us while at the same time dedicating himself to treating his patients. He’d bring work home with him just so we could see him. I remember him putting up a series of different imaging slides on the projector to review, and I admired his dedication, yet always appreciated his availability. As I grew older, he could see the spark in my eyes toward the field, and so he would talk to me about cool cases he’d done. He’d bring back expired devices all the time to show me how they work and how and when to use them. That harbored my interest in IR and helped it grow with me even more. I remember his sleepless call nights and how it took a toll on him at times, but his smile never left his face no matter how tired he was. That helped me realize how dedicated he was, and more importantly, how helping people is one of the most noble and rewarding professions.
What made you choose IR?
AA: IR has been my dream job ever since I could remember. When I was about 10 years old, I asked my dad if I could go to work with him that day. He was excited and let me shadow him, and the first procedure I observed him perform was an IVC filter placement. It wasn’t a complicated or difficult procedure by any means, but to my little, 10-year-old brain it was the coolest and most exciting thing I’d ever seen. The idea that he had a human being on the table, treating them, all while watching a screen the whole time was mind blowing. I never knew medicine could resemble a video game that much. Seeing him interact with his colleagues, and back in the day, reading diagnostic images on the lightbox with a tape recorder, and being consulted over and over by other physicians just showed me the importance of his role. I essentially made the decision then and there that I was going to become a doctor. I pursued medicine knowing I was going to continue into IR, and the path just made me fall in love with it even more. Realizing the ever-growing nature of the field, with new devices, procedures and techniques every year, meant it had some of the greatest potential for growth with the advancements in technology.
What excites you about the future of IR?
AA: I think what I’m most excited about in the future of IR is the unknown. Technology is advancing exponentially and so is AI. I genuinely believe IR has some of the greatest potential for the future and should be spearheading technological advancements in the medical field, because we’re the sweet spot that joins both technology and medicine into one career, both of which I’m passionate about. The possibilities of what can be achieved are limitless. Moreover, our understanding of different diseases and their pathogenesis is changing and growing. This will be reflected in our treatment modalities. It’ll not only change some of the management standards we employ today but will also create new treatments that we can deliver in order to treat diseases more effectively and efficiently.
Richard J. Silberstein, MD, and Sara Silberstein, MD
Richard J. Silberstein, MD, completed his radiology fellowship at Stanford in 1982, and today works as an IR at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. His daughter, Sara Silberstein, MD, is aPGY-3 resident at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.
Why did you choose IR?
Richard J. Silberstein, MD: IR chose me, I think. My fellowship was in body, which at the time was ultrasound (I started with static imaging) and CT (EMI scanner). A busy day on CT was12 scans. I did “special procedures” in residency, and then went into private practice and kept doing special procedures, such as nephrostomies without sedation or ultrasound guidance, and many pulmonary angiograms, etc. Then it seems like one day I became an interventional radiologist.
Sara Silberstein, MD: I didn’t go to medical school right after college, and instead worked in the medical field from a technology and public health perspective, and obtained a Masters of Public Policy with a focus on health policy. My goal was always to go into medicine, and when I was in medical school, I was fortunate to meet some IR residents who were very focused on ethics and had created a working group that was putting IR at the forefront of medical ethics work. IR, from an outside observer, is not as focused on humanism as primary care may be, and people often associate it with technology and innovation—which is accurate. But I think at the heart of IR, there ends up being a lot of humanism in it, which is reflected by that constant question that all IRs ask: irrespective of disease state, how can we help this patient? What are the pain points in care, and how can we alleviate them?
What was it like growing up in an IR household?
SS: My dad is one of the humblest people I know. If you ask him how he came to IR, he’ll tell you that he just stumbled into it, and make you think he was just walking around one day and landed in the IR department. But the truth is that my father is someone who is so incredibly smart and is always learning. Growing up, I never saw him as an IR specifically, but rather as a doctor who took care of his patients and was incredibly excited to do so. And he has maintained that excitement and appreciation for the wonders of medicine. One of the many lessons I’ve learned from my dad is that there is no task too simple, or no task below you. No matter how good you get in your career, even the simplest task can be a learning opportunity. Your job as a doctor is to treat, heal and help, and no aspect of that becomes too simple or menial.
How does it feel to have your daughter follow in your footsteps?
RS: I love having Sara do what I do—but I didn’t tell her to do it. She spent a month with us at SCVMC during her 4thyear in medical school, and it was the best month of my career. What excites you about the future of IR?SS: I’m excited to be in my dad’s position, years from now, and able to look back on IR and see how far we’ve come. IR is expanding and growing so rapidly that I have no clue what it will look like, but I know it will be exciting. For my own career, I’m excited to watch this growth and also serve as a mentor in order to pay forward all the time and guidance that my mentors have given me.
Ellena Varnadoe and Melissa Corey, RT
Ellena Varnadoe is an osteopathic medical student at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, a member of SIR’s IRIG Committee and one of the 2025 Medical Student Scholars. Her mother, Melissa Corey, RT(R)(VI)(ARRT), is an interventional radiologic technologist at University of Florida Health in Gainesville, Fl.
Why did you choose IR?
Ellena Varnadoe: When I started medical school, I wasn’t sure what I was interested in. I knew I enjoyed procedures, and while I knew my mom assisted with procedures in IR, I didn’t really know what that entailed. Early on in medical school I attended a talk with Kyran Dowling, MD, FSIR, who talked about the Road to IR program and his work in Tanzania. Hearing him explain his work was transformative—IR therapies can have a huge impact for patients who may have limited resources and need a faster recovery time. Learning about the value that IR brings not only to the United States but also other countries was very inspiring, so I introduced myself to Dr. Dowling. From there, we started a research project together and I kept gravitating toward IR. While home for break, I asked my mom if I could shadow her at UF, and while there, I was able to spend a lot of time with the residents. I’ve since shadowed at UF three times, and each time I get to be a bit more involved.
What was it like growing up in an IR household?
EV: My mother actually lost her job as a bank teller during the 2008 recession, and at that point she decided that rather than find an equivalent job, she would go back to school. She became a certified X-ray technician, and it honestly changed our lives. We were able to move from a trailer to a real house, and I was able to attend a better school. It was the first time I saw the power of education and how it can transform families, and I knew that whatever job I pursued, I would attain the highest level of education possible in it. Seeing my mom work in healthcare made me gravitate toward it. My mom went on to get additional certifications in interventional radiology, and though she explained what she did, I didn’t really get it. Honestly, even at the start of medical school I didn’t fully understand the concept of putting a wire in someone’s body and using that to treat so many things. In medical school, you don’t really get a lot of exposure to IR in general.
How does your mother feel about you pursuing IR?
EV: She’s excited, but she doesn’t want to push me. She loves what she does so much, and she wants me to love my job too. She keeps asking if I’m sure, and I keep telling her that I’m 100% invested. And honestly, it’s just so fun and exciting to get to shadow her and work with her—I would love for us to be able to really work together one day, and I know she’d love it too.
