Dear NESIR Members -

Welcome to the 2016-2017 NESIR academic year!

I want to thank the Board for electing me President of the New England Society of Interventional Radiology (NESIR). I am both humbled and excited about the honor to work for such a distinguished, historical organization representing our unique specialty.

Educational Lecture Series for 2016-2017 –

We are again lucky to have a great series of renowned speakers who will introduce new ideas and IR techniques, talk about our role in defining the next generation of medicine from entrepreneurship, to NIH research, to our relationships with the American Medical Association, and update us with new data and insight on our daily bread & butter IR procedures.

Our inaugural speaker this year will be Dr. J. David Prologo who will talk to us about “Cryoablation for Phantom Limb Pain” - A new technique that has the potential to improve the lives of many patients. The inaugural meeting this year will be held on at the Inn of Longwood on Monday, September 12, 2016. A complete list of our lectures this year can be found at www.nesir.org.

50th Anniversary of the NESIR

The NESIR was founded in 1966 and represents the oldest and one of the largest interventional radiology societies. This year we continue to celebrate our 50th anniversary. For this year, I am happy to announce the following initiatives:

1. Live-Streaming Monthly Meetings -

One of the biggest challenges the NESIR has always faced is hosting the monthly meetings for all our New England members - from Maine to Connecticut. We know it is not easy to drive to downtown Boston at the end of a Monday workday. With advances in technology, we are exploring live streaming our monthly meetings. This year we hope to send links to all our members, allowing everyone to not only view live the monthly meeting on computers or mobile devices, but to also participate. At its minimum, we hope that members would be able to view the invited speaker’s lectures and ask questions on laptops or mobile devices from remote locations. At its ideal, I hope that members from remote locations can present their clinical cases. As this is the first year we are attempting this, I ask that you be patient. There will no doubt be computer glitches and audio and video issues - we will learn, make improvements, and move forward. So tell your IR friends, sign up for membership, and log on September 12.

2. “What Would You Do?” Clinical Case Series –

With the possibility of live-streaming and increased remote participation we want to increase conversations amongst members about challenges and techniques we all face daily. To that end I would like to start a series titled” What Would You Do?” Unlike in past years where trainees brought interesting cases, for this series I encourage all members to bring cases where you want an opinion from the group - Questions of indications, technique, or complications. The NESIR represents a large brain trust- Use this resource to help in the clinical care of your patients. Interesting and unusual IR cases will also be accepted. With live-streaming, we will all be able to see and discuss cases presented from the remote corners of Maine and Connecticut to cases presented in person at our monthly meetings.

3. Build On Our Social Media Community-

Did you know the NESIR has a Facebook page? Hirschel McGinnis, our Communications Board Member created and has been maintaining the NESIR Facebook page. We want to build our online community. So join our Facebook page and be prepared to post or tweet about NESIR events.

2016-2017 NESIR Board Members

The NESIR would not exist without the hard work and dedication of its board members who volunteer their time and efforts for the NESIR. The 2016-2017 NESIR board members who have already done a tremendous amount of work for the upcoming year include:

Dr. Regina Maria Koch- Vice President
Dr. Muneeb Ahmed, MD – Secretary
Dr. Hirschel McGinnis - Incoming Treasurer, Communications
Dr. Michael Stecker – Outgoing Treasurer
Dr. Neil Halin - Accreditation
Dr. Ronald Arellano
Dr. T. Gregory Walker
Dr. Herlen Alencar

Please thank them for all their hard work.

I would also like to thank Muneeb Ahmed, MD - 2015-2106 President of the NESIR. Under Muneeb, the society has grown and has continued its long tradition of hosting internationally recognized speakers and educating regional radiologists about new ideas and techniques. Muneeb has also been an incredible resource for me during these months of transition and I am forever indebted for his help. I would also like to thank the board members Hirschel McGinnis, Mike Stecker, Ron Arellano, Greg Walker and Neil Halin for all their help, support, and advice over this past month of planning and preparation for the upcoming year.

NESIR Membership

The NESIR represents the oldest and largest regional society. We appreciate your membership within this community of IR experts. Membership benefits include:

1. Collaboration with members of the largest IR community in New England
2. Eight educational lectures from renowned interventional radiologists
3. Clinical case presentations
4. Educational credits for physicians and nurses
5. Buffet dinners
6. Validated parking for NESIR meetings
7. Guest pass ($25/guest/meeting)
8. Access to on-line archived case presentations.

I encourage all of you to renew your membership or join NESIR for the upcoming academic year.

Finally, I would also like to acknowledge and thank our corporate grantors who continue to support NESIR and without whom we would not be able to host this long-standing educational series. We will acknowledge their support at our meetings and on our website.

I am excited about the upcoming year for the NESIR. I hope you will join me in making this year another successful year. I look forward to meeting every one of you. Please feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts and ideas you have for the NESIR.

Thank You

Raul N. Uppot, MD
President, 2016-2017 NESIR
uppot.raul@mgh.harvard.edu