One of Canada’s leading radiologists in AI will have the chance to learn more about leadership from experts in the field of radiology this September.
Dr. Bo Gong, member of the CAR and its AI Standing Committee, will take part in the American College of Radiology’s (ACR) Radiology Leadership Institute (RLI) Summit, thanks to the generous support of the Canadian Radiological Foundation (CRF) Leadership Scholarship.
Taking place in place in Boston from September 6-8, the RLI Leadership Summit offers a chance for participants to learn firsthand from radiology leaders and business experts in an interactive environment, equipping them with the necessary skills to manage and conquer critical business and leadership challenges.
Dr. Gong is looking forward to the chance to learn and improve.
“As a neuroradiology fellow aiming for an academic neuroradiology career focusing on radiology AI, I believe the opportunity to attend the ACR RLI Leadership Summit will provide great benefits in facilitating and guiding my future academic and leadership endeavors.”
He was quick to point out that this opportunity could only have been made possible with generous support from the CRF and the encouragement of his colleagues.
“I appreciate that the CRF and CAR made funds available to support Canadian representation at the ACR RLI Leadership Summit, and it is a great honour to be selected for the CRF Leadership Scholarship. Following the scholarship announcement, I received several congratulatory messages from mentors, teachers, and colleagues from different Canadian institutions, which gave me a great sense of encouragement and community.”
With so many experts on hand for the event, Dr. Gong is hopeful there will be plenty of important concepts and experiences to take away regarding AI.
“Motivated by an interdisciplinary training background in computer science, neuroscience and radiology, I am passionate about bridging the technical and clinical aspects of AI development in radiology. While I am an active participant in the Canadian and international radiology AI communities, the RLI Leadership Summit will be uniquely helpful for me to appreciate the challenges associated with radiology AI in the context of evolving landscape of modern radiology,” he said. “This is particularly important given the complexity of policy issues surrounding radiology AI, which are intrinsically intertwined with many of the topics to be discussed during the 2024 RLI Leadership Summit, such as radiology labor force scarcity and strategic decision making. I hope attending the 2024 RLI Leadership Summit will allow me to be immersed in expert teaching on leadership topics, develop hands-on problem-solving skills, and build valuable clinical and business connections. I also hope to learn about the important topics regarding modern radiology, so that I can apply them in the Canadian context.”
Building a professional career in radiology is not an individual act. It requires a community of mentors and leaders, many of whom have helped Dr. Gong along the way.
“I am privileged to have worked with great mentors and leaders in various stages of training, and it is not possible to list all of them here. Dr. Savvas Nicolaou and Dr. Faisal Khosa at UBC introduced me to radiology, and I have always admired their vision and effectiveness in pursuing innovations in radiology and education against obstacles. I recall the inspiring stories they shared with me about how Dr. Nicolaou established the first dedicated Canadian emergency radiology section at the Vancouver General Hospital and developed one of the best radiology curricula in undergraduate university, as well as how Dr. Khosa pioneered equity research while mentoring many trainees worldwide. As a UBC radiology residency alumnus, I also witnessed the strong leadership of Dr. Bruce Forster, Dr. Jonathon Leipsic, and Dr. Cameron Hague in steering the department and residency program through the challenging COVID and post-COVID periods," said Dr. Gong.
“At the national level, I was fortunate to work with Dr. An Tang, who assembled the CAR AI Advisory Group and, through landmark publications, established the reputation of Canadian radiology in the international AI community that we enjoy today. More recently, as the past CARJ Editor-in-Training, I had the honour of working with Dr. Michael Patlas and witnessed his tireless effort in achieving the impressive transformation of the CARJ, reducing the publication turnaround time to days and tripling the impact factor. As a new neuroradiology fellow at the University of Toronto, I am fortunate to continue working under his leadership as the department chair,” he added. “Despite the varying leadership approaches, one common attribute among these great leaders was the speed at which they respond to emails during their extremely busy schedule, which, in my opinion, speaks to their dedication to excellence.”
Congratulations to Dr. Gong on this well-deserved opportunity for professional growth.