MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
May 8, 2002 – Dr. Roderic Pettigrew Named 1st Director of the NIBIB
Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced the appointment of Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D., as the first permanent director of the NIH's National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Dr. Pettigrew is currently Professor of Radiology, Medicine (Cardiology) and Bioengineering and Director of the Emory Center for MR Research, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Pettigrew is expected to begin his appointment in late August or early September 2002.
"I am delighted that Dr. Pettigrew will be assuming the directorship of the NIH's newest institute," said Dr. Kirschstein. "The NIBIB is the only institute at NIH dedicated to biomedical technologies, and we believe that this new direction is truly a reflection of where science is today, and where it will take us tomorrow. Dr. Pettigrew, a recognized expert in the development and application of bioimaging techniques to patient care, will provide dynamic leadership in our efforts to apply the principles of engineering and imaging science to biological processes, disorders, and diseases."
Dr. Pettigrew will oversee the institute's federally-mandated budget for basic and applied research and training. The NIBIB was established in December 2000 by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Establishment Act (H.R. 1795). The NIBIB's mission is to improve health by supporting fundamental research in bioengineering and bioimaging science and transferring the results to medical applications. The NIBIB also coordinates ongoing efforts of NIH centers and institutes and exchanges information with other federal agencies. The NIBIB awarded its first grants in April 2002.
"I am honored and privileged to be joining the NIH at this important moment when the opportunity to develop new technologies in medicine has never been greater," said Dr. Pettigrew. "To combat disease more effectively, the hope is to develop new and emerging technologies that can detect the disease process at its earliest stage, when therapies are most efficacious. I and the NIBIB staff look forward to working with the other NIH institutes and centers, the research community, and the public to achieve this vision. Working together, we can increase the understanding of how advances in biomedical imaging and bioengineering can be applied to improve public health. We will use the technological advances and this knowledge to help conquer disease."
Dr. Pettigrew is known for his pioneering work at Emory University involving dynamic three-dimensional imaging of the heart using magnetic resonance (MRI). He also was co-developer of the first computer software package specifically designed for cardiac imaging using MRI.
Dr. Pettigrew graduated cum laude from Morehouse College with a B.S. in physics, where he was a Merrill Scholar; has an M.S. in nuclear medicine and engineering from Rennselear Polytechnic Institute; and a Ph.D. in applied radiation physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Whitaker Harvard-MIT Health Science Scholar. After completing his Ph.D., he received an M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine in an accelerated two-year program. He did his internship and residency in internal medicine at Emory University and completed a residency in nuclear medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Pettigrew spent a year as a clinical research scientist with Picker International, the first manufacturer of MRI equipment. In 1985, he joined Emory as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellow with an interest in non-invasive cardiac imaging.
Dr. Pettigrew, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Bennie Award (Benjamin E. Mays) for Achievement in 1989. Also in 1989, when the Radiological Society of North America celebrated its 75th Diamond anniversary scientific meeting, the largest medical meeting in the world, it selected Dr. Pettigrew to give the keynote Eugene P. Pendergrass New Horizons Lecture. In 1990, he was named the Most Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Miami. He has served as chairman of the Diagnostic Radiology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, NIH, and has received multiple grants from the NIH for his research on cardiac imaging. He is on numerous editorial boards, scientific societies' Boards of Directors, and is a frequent invited lecturer at international scientific meetings. Dr. Pettigrew has also been elected a Fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.
The NIBIB is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health, the premier federal agency for biomedical research. More information on NIBIB can be found at: http://www.nibib.nih.gov.
I graduated course 22 in 1990. My concentration was in Radiation Sciences Technology (or whatever they were calling it back then!)
I never really practiced in the area of nuclear engineering. After graduation, I worked for IBM as a marketing/client representative. My clients were the engineers at Grumman Aerospace in Long Island, New York, so I did somewhat use my engineering background by selling engineering tools (software and hardware).
Three years later, I went to law school. I then became a criminal prosecutor for the Nassau County District Attorney's Office (having absolutely nothing to do with engineering!), and I have been there ever since. Actually, I am now considering going into Intellectual Property or Patent law, maybe for IBM again.
As you can see, I still haven't decided what to do when I grow up. Although I have to admit, the most rewarding job has been being Mom to my 16-month-old!
I finished my Course 22 PhD in 1975, taught in the Nuclear Engineering Department as assistant professor for 3 years, worked at Los Alamos for 3 years, and have been at the Draper Laboratory for the past 18 years. The first two of those years were nuclear-related, but I don't think that I can serve as the poster person for nuclear considering that most of my career has related to simulation of aerospace systems, autonomous systems, and military information systems. The URL below is an html bio I did for my undergraduate 30th reunion.
Owen Deutsch's biography
While at MIT in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, I concentrated my studies on the radiological sciences. I participated in the Engineering Internship Program and spent 3 summers + 1 semester conducting research related to understanding the dose calculations for an experimental cancer therapy which uses neutrons from nuclear reactors to deliver the treatment. I continue to work in the medical applications of radiation, now at the Department of Radiation Therapy at the University of Michigan Medical Center. I recently received my Ph.D. in Radiological Health from U-M. For my dissertation, I measured the dose characteristics of high energy electron beams (up to 50 MeV) and modified a dose calculation algorithm to better predict dose distributions so that a new way of shaping the electron beams could be used for patient treatments.
Any department alumnus who would like to participate in this section of the NS&E Web site can send a short bio to ned-www@mit.edu. Our thanks go to alumna Kimberly Keithline for her help in starting this page. Note: Kimberly Keithline is one of two nuclear engineers profiled in The National Academies' Gallery of Women Engineers.
