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2023 Letter from the President

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this letter finds you well, as signs of spring are starting to show and winter eases its grip.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued NASCI membership, and provide a mid-year update on the activities of the society since our meeting in Cleveland last autumn.

International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging

  • We have renewed our agreement with IJCVI. Among the highlights of the new agreement: Free access to the journal for members>>
  • Dedicated space for NASCI-generated content, including NASCI-endorsed editorials and guidelines, Publication of the winning Young Investigator Competition abstracts, and NASCI Case of the Month
  • Opportunity for NASCI-appointed special collections and special issues highlighting current high value topics.
    If you are interested in contributing to these efforts, we welcome your involvement! Please contact Danielle Wagner at dwagner@veritasamc.com.

Publications and Guidelines
Congratulations and much thanks to the outstanding work and contributions from outgoing Publications and Guidelines Committee chair, Dr. Quynh Truong!

  • Dr. Truong led our first NASCI-endorsed editorial on CAD-RADS 2.0.
  • Dr. Truong was also the NASCI liaison for a new SCCT-led white paper on standardized medical terminology for cardiac CT, to be published in JCCT. We now welcome Dr. Kate Hanneman from the University of Toronto as the new Publications and Guidelines Committee Chair, and Dr. Bradley Allen from Northwestern University as vice chair. Dr. Hanneman is continuing to build on this momentum and leading our efforts to organize and grow the efforts in publications and guidelines. The committee has established several working groups for multiple NASCI-led publications including a commentary on the 2022 ACC/AHA Aortic Guidelines, a white paper on imaging in patients with Fontan circulations, a white paper on vascular imaging for transcather and minimally invasive cardiac surgical procedures, and a review on cardiac chamber quantification. The committee is also developing standardized documents and work flows for publications led by NASCI and for NASCI participation in publications led by other societies.

Education
Much thanks to Dr. Jonathan Revels from NYU who is leading the Education Committee. Among the great initiatives from this group in the last few months are:

  • Recasting the old NASCI Case-In-Point as “NASCI Case of the Month”. We are targeting to have an open call for “NASCI Case of the Month” submission by May.
  • A new “Teaching Corner” of the NASCI website is under active construction. We anticipate this will be operational by mid-April and will provide recommended trainee articles that the committee members have curated, info on “NASCI Case of the Month”, and we are also going to work on having a “Teaching Files” where our social media cases can live on for everyone to continue to enjoy and learn from.
  • Along with the Society for Thoracic Radiology, we will co-host a mid-year webinar. The format this year will be a board-review style case series in cardiovascular and thoracic radiology, targeting upper-level Radiology residents. We hope to continue this type of virtual activity in future years and develop additional topical material for members of all levels.

Research
We are pleased to announce that we have two new sponsorships from industry partners to continue to support the research efforts of the society:

  • Heartflow has agreed to sponsor the NASCI Young Investigator Competition Awards. This will allow us to provide generous cash awards to the winner and the two runners-up, as well as cover the cost of registration and two nights at the meeting hotel for all the finalists.
  • Coreline has agreed to sponsor the Scientific and Educational Poster Presentation Session.
    Thank you to both of these outstanding industry partners!

Grants
We are excited to announce a new Educational Grant, an initiative led by past NASCI president Dr. Diana Litmanovich.

This will award a $5,000 grant to support innovative techniques, materials, or programs in cardiovascular imaging. This competitively awarded grant will be a new opportunity for members of all levels to expand our presence in educating the next generation of leaders, clinicians, and patients.

We are accepting applications for this grant now through June 15th. For more information, please visit the NASCI website.

We have decided to move up our timeline for the annual NASCI Seed Grant to allow the recipient more time to plan to attend the annual meeting and accept their award in person. The application portal is now open, and submissions will be accepted until June 2nd.

Advocacy
Please welcome Dr. Albert Hsiao from the University of California, San Diego as the new Advocacy Committee Chair. Dr. Hsiao was recently appointed, and we welcome his plans and ideas for effective Advocacy on behalf of NASCI and its members.

Program
Dr. Elsie Nguyen from the University of Toronto is again chairing the Program Committee, which is in the midst of building an exciting program for our next Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona this coming September. Thank you again to Dr. Nguyen and all the members of the Program Committee!

Please do not hesitate to contact Danielle Wagner or myself with any questions.

We look forward to all meeting again at our next NASCI Annual Meeting in September 9-12, 2023, at the Scott Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona!

Phillip M. Young, MD
NASCI President