Meet the Minnies 2025 semifinalist candidates

The semifinalist list was compiled based on nominations from members of AuntMinnie.com. Winners will be selected by our expert panel in two rounds of voting. The finalists will be announced in late October, followed by the winners in early November.

Most Influential Radiology Researcher

Manisha Bahl, MD, Harvard Medical School

Richard Barr, MD, PhD, Northeast Ohio Medical University

David Bluemke, MD, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rajesh Botchu, MD, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham

Tyler Bradshaw, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Eric Christensen, PhD, Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute

Linda Chu, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Damini Dey, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Elizabeth Dibble, MD, Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School

Florence Doo, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Fiona Gilbert, MD, University of Cambridge

Kate Hanneman, MD, University of Toronto

Christiane Kuhl, MD, PhD, RWTH Aachen University

Negar Omidvari, PhD, University of California, Davis

Perry Pickhardt, MD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Peter Scott, PhD, University of Michigan

Rebecca Smith-Bindman, MD, University of California, San Francisco

Katherine Zukotynski, MD, PhD, McMaster University

Most Effective Radiology Educator

Lea Alhilali, MD, Barrow Neurological Institute

Suzie Bash, MD, Radnet

Ali Cahid Civelek, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ghaneh Fananapazir, MD, University of California, Davis

Elliot Fishman, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Lynn Francesconi, PhD, Hunter College – CUNY

Frank Gillard, MD, Radiopaedia

Matthew Hartman, MD, Allegheny Health Network

Saurabh Jha, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Nina Kottler, MD, Radiology Partners

Suzanne Lapi, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Kira Melamud, MD, NYU Langone

Tanya Moseley, MD, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Ashwin Singh Parihar, MD, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

Tharani Putta, MD, AIG Hospitals, India

Manuel Signorini, Università degli Studi di Padova

Benjamin H. Taragin, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Michael Albert Thomas, PhD, UCLA Health

Vani Vijayakumar, MD, University of Mississippi

Most Effective Radiologic Sciences Educator

Colleen Dempsey, Thomas Jefferson University

Tobias Gilk, Gilk Radiology Consultants

Kellye Mantooth, RT, UTMCK School of Radiography and Metrasens

Kristi Moore, PhD, RT (R), University of Mississippi Medical Center

Joy Renner, RT (R), University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill

Kori Stewart, PhD, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT

Jennifer Thompson, EdD, Austin Peay State University

Most Effective Radiology Administrator/Manager

Asher Beam, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Melissa Bonassisa, RWBJH Jersey City Medical Center

Jamie Dennis, Emory Johns Creek Hospital

Terri Franklin, University of Alabama – Birmingham

Frederick Lee, Alameda Health System

Billie McKee, East Memphis Imaging Center

Carly Nicholson, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health

Ashley Perkins, Franciscan Health Central Indiana

Kasi Rether, OhioHealth

Jose Rodriguez, University of Kansas Health System

Marcy Saniuk, Nebraska Medicine

Mark Steffen, University of Southern California

Best Radiologist Training Program

Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA

Creighton University School of Medicine — Phoenix, AZ

Emory University, Atlanta

Harvard Medical School – Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

New York University, New York City

University of California, San Francisco

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Best Radiologic Sciences Program

Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR

Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN

John Patrick University of Health and Applied Sciences, South Bend, IN

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, Rochester, MN

The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Quinnipiac University Radiologic Sciences Program, Hamden, CT

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Most Significant News Event in Radiology

Aetna, UnitedHealthcare sue Radiology Partners

China limits exports of rare elements, targets CT x-ray tubes

AI industry consolidation

FDA begins phasing out animal studies for PET drugs

First x-ray image taken in space

Growing interest in whole-body MRI

Impact of U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding cuts on medical imaging research community

Man dies after being pulled into MRI machine

Medicare finalizes 2025 Fee Schedule Cut

Supply shortages of Tc-99m in late 2024

USPSTF boosts DEXA in osteoporosis screening

U.S. Supreme Court overturns Kennedy v. Braidwood ruling

Biggest Threat to Radiology

Increased imaging volumes

Lower Medicare reimbursement

NIH funding cuts to medical imaging research

Private equity/corporatization of radiology

Radiologist burnout

Radiology workforce shortages

Slow adoption rate for AI

Tariffs

Hottest clinical procedure

3D printing

Agentic AI

Cardiac CT

Cinematic rendering

CT colonography

Contrast-enhanced mammography

F-18 flurpiridaz PET

Remote MRI

Theranostics

Whole-body MRI screening

Image of the Year

AI model detects low BMD on ankle and foot x-rays. Image from Farid Gharehmohammadi, MD, and Ronnie Sebro, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, et al.

CT reveals changes in lung holes in emphysema patients. Image from Yura Ahn, MD, of the University of Ulsan in South Korea, et al.

DTI-MRI shows childhood neglect’s effect on the brain’s white matter. Image from Natasha Kawata, MD, of the University of Fukui in Japan, et al.

First x-ray image taken in space. Image from Chun Wu, et al.

MRI model predicts treatment response for triple-negative breast cancer. Image from Toulsie Ramtohul, MD, of the Curie Institute France, et al.

New immuno-PET tracer for measuring PD-L1 expression in patients with head and neck cancers. Image from Yong Wang, MD, of Shandong Medical University in China, et al.

New PET tracer developed for breast cancer. Image from Li Sun, MD, of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center in China, et al.

PET scans identify people at early risk for cognitive decline. Image from Guilherme Kolinger, MD, of Life Molecular Imaging in Germany, et al.

PET tracer images brain inflammation. Image from Jiahui Chen, PhD, of Emory University, et al.

Photon-counting CT bests conventional CT for quantifying coronary plaque.  Image from Milán Vecsey-Nagy, MD, PhD, of the Medical University of South Carolina, et al.

Resting-state fMRI analysis reveals impact of blast exposures. Image from Andrea Diociasi, MD, of Mass General Brigham, et al.

SPECT/CT predicts overall survival in Pluvicto patients. Image from Lena Unterrainer, MD, of University Hospital LMU Munich in Germany.

Whole-body PET shows how naloxone blocks opioids. Image from Jacob Dubroff, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, et al.

Scientific Paper of the Year

AI as an independent second reader in detection of clinically relevant breast cancers within a population-based screening programme in the Netherlands: a retrospective cohort study. Van Winkel, et al, Lancet Digital Health, August 14, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

AI Opportunistic Coronary Calcium Screening at Veterans Affairs Hospitals. Hagopian, et al, NEJM AI, May 16, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Association between Long-term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Myocardial Fibrosis Assessed with Cardiac MRI. Du Plessis, et al, Radiology, July 1, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Brain dopamine responses to ultra-processed milkshakes are highly variable and not significantly related to adiposity in humans. Darcey, et al, Clinical and Translational Report, March 4, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Cannabinoid 1 receptor availability in posttraumatic stress disorder: A positron emission tomography study. Korem, et al, Translational Psychiatry, August 22, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Comparison of supplemental breast cancer imaging techniques – interim results from the BRAID randomised controlled trial. Gilbert, et al. Lancet, May 31, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Cost-effectiveness of a novel AI technology to quantify coronary inflammation and cardiovascular risk in patients undergoing routine coronary computed tomography angiography. Tsiachristas, et al, European Heart Journal: Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, June 23, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Evaluating Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Prostate Biparametric MRI Interpretation: An International Multireader Study. Gelikman, et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, July 16, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

First-in-human positron emission tomography study of intranasal insulin in aging and MCI. Sai, et al, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, July 23, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Genicular Artery Embolization for the Treatment of Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis. Fleckenstein, et al, Radiology, July 22, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Greater Neuroimmune System Deficit in Women Than Men with Alcohol Use Disorder. Zakiniaeiz, et al, Biological Psychiatry, May 22, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Multimodal AI to forecast arrhythmic death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Lai, et al, Nature Cardiovascular Research, July 2, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Nociception During Iodinated Contrast Medium Infusia on in Computed Tomography: Neurophysiological Mechanisms and Clinical Implications. Scappatura, et al, Journal of Advanced Health Care, March 5, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Non-Risk-Based Lung Cancer Screening With Low-Dose Computed Tomography. Li, et al, JAMA, April 21, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Opportunistic Use of Chest X-Ray for Identifying Older Adults at risk for Osteoporosis and not Meeting Criteria for Screening. Chinapuvvula, et al, Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, July 14, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Private Equity Acquisitions of Radiology Practices from 2013 to 2023: National- and State-Level Analyses. Khunte, et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, March 5, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Projected Lifetime Cancer Risks From Current Computed Tomography Imaging. Smith-Bindman, et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, April 14, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Quantifying the Opportunity and Economic Value of Bone Density Screening Using Opportunistic CT: A Medicare Database Analysis. Gyftopoulos, et al, Journal of the American College of Radiology, March 3, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Rates of PSMA PET Staging and Positivity in Newly Diagnosed Prostate Cancer in a National Health Care System. Miller, et al, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, January 3, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Restriction Spectrum Imaging as a Quantitative Biomarker for Prostate Cancer With Reliable Positive Predictive Value. Rojo Domingo, et al, Journal of Urology, May 16, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

The use of artificial intelligence to improve detection of acute incidental pulmonary emboli. Kuzo, et al, Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, August 4, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.

Unveiling rare earth elements in beers: evidence for gadolinium contamination. Bordeneuve-Pérès, et al, Food Chemistry, August 21, 2025. To learn more about this paper, click here.