J. William Charboneau, M.D., receives Gold Medal from Radiological Society of North America

J. William Charboneau, M.D. (right), receives Gold Medal award from Richard Ehman, M.D.

J. William Charboneau, M.D. (R-D ’80), emeritus professor of radiology at Mayo Clinic, received the 2017 Gold Medal from the Radiological Society of North America at its 103rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting.

The Radiological Society of North America Board of Directors determines Gold Medal recipients by unanimous vote. The Gold Medal is the society’s highest honor, given to those who, in the judgment of the board, have rendered unusual service to the science of radiology.

Dr. Charboneau was presented with the award by Richard Ehman, M.D. (R-D ’85), president of the Radiological Society of North America Board of Directors. Dr. Ehman is a consultant in the Division of Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Radiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering.

Dr. Charboneau said: “Being recognized by one’s peers in this way is both a high honor and a very precious thing. I feel gratitude to the society for selecting me for the award. It’s clearly the highlight of my professional career — a moment I will always cherish. I also feel gratitude for the team at Mayo that made this possible and the colleagues worldwide, where we all work together. I share this award with these collaborators, with these co-workers and with these colleagues throughout the world. While I’m getting the Gold Medal, it’s really about us, and I thank them for the work that we all did together.

“I’ve been so fortunate to have such good friends and colleagues over the years. I literally could not wait to come in each day with each of them, and I think them for being such terrific co-workers and colleagues. We radiologists value the friendship and collegiality at great meetings like this one. We value the sharing of ideas and learning from one another that occurs at this meeting.”

Dr. Charboneau continued: “To the young people in the audience, I would love to be in your shoes right now. Because the opportunities you have in imaging and image-guided intervention are incredible, and I know you are going to find this a wonderfully dynamic and engaging medical specialty. You definitely made the right choice in picking radiology. I would pick it again in a heartbeat.”

Dr. Ehman says the Gold Medal recognizes Dr. Charboneau’s role as a leading authority in diagnostic ultrasound and a pioneer in image-guided treatment of cancers of liver, kidney, lung and bone. “He is a world-renowned clinician, educator and visionary who helped translate many advanced applications of imaging and intervention. His innovations, leadership and advocacy were instrumental in the introduction and adoption of image-guided percutaneous tumor ablation.”

In 2006, the Radiological Society of North America also recognized Dr. Charboneau’s work, asking him to present the New Horizons Lecture, titled “Image-Guided Cancer Treatment: the Science and Vision of an Emerging Field.” The lecture reflected his role in advancing a new discipline — interventional oncology.