Applied Radiology Still Growing at 50

As I sat down to compose this editorial to mark the start of Applied Radiology’s 50th year of publication, the thought occurred to me that I, too, have just turned 50. I was just your typical mischief-making kid in grade school when my father, O Oliver Anderson, began managing the journal for Romain Pierson Publishing, in the 1980s. I was just out of high school when he acquired Applied Radiology for his own budding publishing company.

So, in many respects, I can say I’ve grown up with Applied Radiology.

I still remember attending the RSNA and so many other radiology conferences with my parents in those early days. I would manage the booth while he and my mother, Brenda, hiked the exhibit halls, networking with the physicians and vendors. What stood out to me then is that so many of you would stop by the booth to thank us for publishing a journal just for the radiology community.

Many of you still stop by the booth today, and your gratitude continues to remind us that Applied Radiology still matters—very much so.

Yet none of this would be here today if it weren’t for those individuals who not only believed in the need for a publication like Applied Radiology, but were also willing to step up and help us make it the best possible journal to meet the practical needs of medical imaging clinicians and professionals everywhere.

They were people like Dr Byron Gilliam (Gil) Brogdon, Applied Radiology’s first Editor-in-Chief. I never had the pleasure of meeting Gil, but I am told he was an amazing doctor and human being. Gil’s career spanned more than six decades, and he was known to many as the ‘Godfather of Forensic Radiology.’ His textbook, “Forensic Radiology,” remains a valuable resource for radiologists and researchers to this day. We still cherish his wit and humorous approach to writing and editing.

And then there was Dr Theodore (Ted) Keats, who by all accounts was the ideal successor to Dr Brogdon. A lover of life, music, the arts, and radiology (of course), Ted spent most of his career at the University of Virginia, where he was the Chairman of Radiology for 28 years. He is perhaps best known for one of his nine textbooks, “An Atlas of Normal Roentgen Variants That May Stimulate Disease,” said to be the book most stolen from any radiology department anywhere. Ted brought to Applied Radiology a fresh mix of content for radiologists practicing in then-emerging specialties like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

And who among us can forget Dr Stuart (Stu) Mirvis, who took over from Dr Keats at the turn of the 21st century? Stu had worked under Dr Keats at the University of Virginia, and he both recognized and appreciated Applied Radiology and the void it filled in the literature. Like Drs Brogdon and Keats, Stu had quite the way with words, penning more than 80 (mostly) tongue-in-cheek editorials under titles ranging from “Care and Feeding of a Visiting Professor,” to “I Used to Interpret Images for a Living.”

Stu’s love for his colleagues and the profession shone brightly in his accounts of the radiology work life. During his 20-year tenure with us, Stu steered Applied Radiology through such challenging developments as the digital and internet revolution. Indeed, it would be an understatement to say that Stu played a major role in ensuring that Applied Radiology didn’t just survive, but thrived, during a time when most print publications seemed to be dying a slow, painful death at the hands of open access journals and websites.

Important as the role these editorial leaders have played in our progress, so too is the role many of you have played in fostering the growth of Applied Radiology. Our family has had the tremendous pleasure of working closely with so many great people over the years, and we have formed lifelong friendships with many.

Some of our fondest memories include working with young residents and fellows in the programs we hosted for imaging companies (some of which the journal has outlived!) to encourage careers in research and academia. Many of those participants now lead radiology departments around the world, are sought-after speakers on the lecture circuit, and radiologic luminaries in their own right.

But none were more luminary than the late Dr William (Bill) Bradley. I recall his wonderful interactions with the trainees in our programs, as well as the annual dinners we enjoyed at RSNA with Bill and wife, Dr Rosalind Dietrich. It is these individuals, and the many wonderful people in the radiology-associated industries, who have made this journey so enjoyable over the years for my family.

And today we continue our journey into the future.

Editor-in-Chief Dr Erin Simon Schwartz, successor to Stu Mirvis, brings to the job unparalleled enthusiasm for taking Applied Radiology to the next level. Drawing on her many strong relationships with today’s thought leaders, Erin and our team are strategically charting the course forward in our continuing pursuit to be your most trusted source of practical and actionable radiologic content.

You will see their plan begin to unfold over the course of this Golden Anniversary year, and I promise you, it is nothing short of audacious.

In closing, I want you all to know that it is not just our great honor to be part of the Applied Radiology journey. It is an even greater honor to have all of you along for the ride.

Here’s to 50 more years!

Kieran N Anderson

Publisher