Dr. Rolla Wilson, a prominent Canadian figure in radiology and one of the first female radiologists in Canada, died on January 25, 2021 at the age of 92. She was raised in Red Bank, New Brunswick, spent her career in Montreal, Quebec, and moved to Barbados in retirement.
Dr. Wilson obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Allison University and a medical degree from McGill University. She introduced the first mammography centre to McGill patients in
1970 (see image from McGill University’s medical newsletter The Square Knot).
Dr. Wilson was the radiologist for the Women’s Pavilion at the Royal Victoria Hospital. She was a “women’s imager” long before this became a subspecialty. She was also the radiologist for the NICU at the Women’s Pavilion, working with Dr. Robert Usher, a world-renowned neonatologist.
Dr. Wilson was a superb teacher. She taught and mentored many radiologists, including CAR Past Presidents Drs. D. Ian Hammond, Lawrence Stein, and David Vickar, as well as former RSNA president Dr. Theresa McCloud. Dr. McCloud remembers Dr. Wilson as a motherly figure who once said she thought Dr. McCloud’s uniform (this was a time when radiologists wore uniforms) was too short! Dr. Hammond recalls that Dr. Wilson carried a comb with her and was known to groom the men if she thought their hair was unruly!
In addition to her lifetime contributions to the field of radiology, Dr. Wilson will be remembered for her love of gardens. She always had new cuttings in the department.