Power Hour Webinar

Kristen K. DeStigter, MD, FACR

Dr. Kristen K. DeStigter, MD, FACR, is the John P. and Kathryn H. Tampas Green and Gold Professor and Chair of Radiology at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the Radiology Health Care Service Chief for the University of Vermont Health Network. She received her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed her diagnostic radiology residency and fellowship in Body Imaging/Women’s Imaging at University Hospitals Cleveland. She has expertise in world health, specializing in lower-middle income economies (LMICs).

With a career focused on education, Dr. DeStigter was program director of the diagnostic radiology residency program at the University of Vermont for 12 years and served as President of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR). During her tenure, Dr. DeStigter received three University of Vermont teaching awards. For 7 years she sat on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Residency Review Committee for Radiology. Formerly, she was President of the Vermont Radiological Society for 5 years, initiating the first resident and fellow section and winning three awards from the American College of Radiology for legislative progress at the State level. She was an invited member of the New England Roentgen Ray Society Executive Committee, focusing on resident education. She is a recipient of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2016 Outstanding Educator Award, given to one individual each year and considered the most prestigious international educator award in the field. She is the 2020 recipient of the APDR Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a frequent invited speaker at both national and international conferences, lecturing on topics germane to global health.

Dr. DeStigter’s research interests and accomplishments include unique applications of ultrasound in rural medicine, the application of AI/ML to democratize rural imaging, the provision of integrated medical imaging services in under-served communities, medical education in diagnostic radiology, and global advances in women’s health care. She is a champion of many projects for safety and quality of care in clinical radiology. In the international community, Dr. DeStigter leveraged her knowledge and experience through her participation as a member of the World Health Organization Referral Guidelines Development Group as part of the International Radiology Quality Network. Dr. DeStigter is past Chair of the RSNA Committee on International Radiology Education (CIRE) and was a member of the RSNA Education Committee. She also serves on the American College of Radiology (ACR) Foundation’s International Outreach Committee. She chairs the AUR International Relations Committee. She is an invited member of the Executive Committee of the Lancet Commission on Diagnostics, focusing on access to essential diagnostics in LMICs and resource-constrained areas in high-income countries, with a Report published in the Lancet in 2021. Her publications focus on global health, and she is an invited reviewer for several journals. In her role as Chair of Radiology she exposes medical students and residents to service learning, and advances global health research within her department.

Drawing upon her experience in international radiology, education, and leadership, Dr. DeStigter co-founded a nonprofit organization, Imaging the World, in 2008 that specializes in integrating low-cost ultrasound programs into remote health clinics where radiologists, technologists and the usual infrastructure required of imaging systems are lacking (www.imagingtheworld.org ). Through her work over the last fourteen years, clinical facilities in rural Uganda and Malawi have access to reliable ultrasound imaging, close to home for many patients. The program is supported by grant awards, including from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2016, Dr. DeStigter received the American College of Radiology Foundation Global Humanitarian Award for her work improving medical imaging and access to care. In addition, she received a Certificate of Recognition from the Uganda Society for Advancement of Radiology and Imaging (USOFARI) for providing invaluable resources towards improving breast cancer diagnosis and management in Uganda. More recently, she received the 2018 University of Vermont Citizen of the World Award from the Larner College of Medicine. She was the 2020 Keynote Speaker for the Opening Ceremony of the RSNA, speaking on, “The Power of Radiology to Drive Collective Action and Transform Global Health.”

Frank J. Lexa, MD, MBA, FACR

Dr. Frank J. Lexa is the author of the book: “Leadership Lessons for Success in Health Care” which takes a systematic approach to developing medical leadership skills. He is an academic neuroradiologist and is currently a Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh where he also does global radiology work for UPMC International. Previously, he served as a Professor, the Associate Chief and the Vice Chair of Strategy and Leadership in the Department of Medical Imaging at the University of Arizona. He began his career in France with a visiting position at the Université de Bordeaux, and has been a Clinical Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a Professor of Radiology at the Drexel University College of Medicine where he was also the Vice Chair.

He has been honored with several major scientific research awards including the Cornelius G. Dyke Memorial award of the American Society of Neuroradiology. He also works outside of academic medicine and was a member of the adjunct faculty of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the marketing department for seventeen years where he taught both graduate and executive MBA students in the Global Consulting Practicum. That took him to five continents. In the GCP, he served in multiple leadership roles including: the Spain, United Arab Emirates, and Israel Country Manager positions as well as the East Asia Regional manager for mainland China and Taiwan.

For several years he also held an appointment as a Professor of Business Development in the Life Sciences at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, at the time the top business school in Europe. There he twice won the prestigious “Prize of Excellence” for outstanding teaching.
He served as an ASNR ambassador in Lviv, Ukraine in 2017 and has also done international medical and education work on several continents including volunteer work in Uganda, Thailand, China and Russia. He has plans to serve again in Africa and Asia in the next two years.

Dr. Lexa lectures, consults and writes extensively on issues at the interface of health care and business. He has authored over 150 peer reviewed papers as well as multiple articles in the general medical press and in alternative media and has contributed multiple book and encyclopedia chapters. He has given over 2,000 academic, invited, educational, business and Grand Rounds lectures as well as chairing and directing numerous educational meetings for academic, professional and business organizations.

He has chaired, co-chaired and served on several key national committees and task forces for major organizations in US radiology. He served on the Board of Chancellors of the American College of Radiology for two terms as the Chair of the Commission on Leadership and Practice Development. He is the Chief Medical Officer of the Radiology Leadership Institute. He is also the current chair of the ACR International Economics Committee and a member of the ACR International Commission. In the past, he also served for six years as a founding co-chair of the Future Trends Committee for the ACR and was on the Budget and Finance Committee.

Previously he directed health care investments for the British Technology Group International and worked as a strategic consultant for the Boston Consulting Group in their healthcare practice. He is the founder and CEO of a boutique health care strategy group: LSG Ventures. He was also a partner at Philadelphia Ventures-a venture capital firm focusing on high tech medical and information technology early stage investments and he continues to work with start up companies in the healthcare sector.

He was educated and did his medical training in Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, and in Philadelphia. He is a licensed airplane pilot and an avid skier and SCUBA diver. He has raised money for several charities in multiple ways including a 100 mile ride for MS research. In his spare time, he bikes, and chases after his two Portuguese water dogs, Rocky and Gabby and his pot belly pig, Pyper.

Daniel J. Mollura, MD

Dr. Mollura is the Founder and CEO of RAD-AID International, a nonprofit organization for increasing health and radiology medical care to underserved and resource-poor communities. Dr. Mollura received his medical degree (MD) from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his diagnostic radiology residency and fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Based on his background as a Goldman Sachs Financial Analyst and prior founding of three other successful start-ups in the media, technology, and public sectors, Dr. Mollura founded and led RAD-AID over 13 years to become a global nonprofit organization with nearly 15,000 members serving over 90 hospitals in 40 countries. In addition to his 10-years at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Mollura served for ten years on the radiology clinical and research faculty of National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Brad Short

Brad Short is Vice President of Governance and Member Services for the American College of Radiology, the primary professional association of radiologists in the US. Mr. Short holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from George Mason University and a Master of Arts degree in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. Mr. Short has worked in government relations, chapter services, governance, member services, meeting services, international outreach and volunteer services during a span of 34 years at the ACR. Having witnessed the growth and development of the organization for over 1/3 of its existence, Mr. Short has been tapped to staff the ACR’s Centennial Celebration at its 2023 and 2024 annual meetings.