History

Caldwell leads the Roentgen Ray Department at Presbyterian Hospital, which is affiliated with Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. An X-ray pioneer, he is known for inventions and innovations that include the portable X-ray machine and a positioning technique known as Caldwell’s view that allows for visualization of the sinuses on X-ray. He is referred to as one of the “martyrs to radiology” due to his serious health problems from radiation exposure and ultimate death from radiation-related cancer in 1918, at the age of 47. (Photo: Columbia University Archives)

Ross Golden, an associate professor of medicine, is appointed director of Roentgen Ray Department at the hospital’s new location, which includes the outpatient Vanderbilt Clinic, Sloane Women’s Hospital, and affiliations with the Neurological Institute of New York and Babies Hospital. The hospital is part of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, the world's first medical center to combine complete facilities for patient care, medical education, and research in a single complex.  (photo: CUIMC Archives and Special Collections)

Caffey, a pediatrician by training, becomes known as one of the founders of pediatric radiology due to his many seminal contributions to the field. Despite no formal training in radiology, he is appointed professor of radiology at Columbia in 1954 and is later given an honorary certificate by the American Board of Radiology. (Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

With the newly established American Board of Radiology, radiology training becomes a three-year program followed by examinations. Under Ross Golden's leadership, Columbia and Presbyterian Hospital establish one of the first ABR certified training programs in the country and accept one resident per year. Arthur Present is the first resident at Columbia to enroll in the three-year program and become certified by the ABR. By 1952, the residency has expanded to 12 residents. 

Lois Cowan Collins, who has completed her residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital after being informed that there are no residency positions open for women at Columbia, joins the department as an assistant professor of radiology. Collins becomes known for her textbooks and textbook chapters, including The Skull and Brain, Roentgenologically Considered, which Collins co-authors with C. Wadsworth Schwartz.

Rabi, a professor of physics at Columbia, develops techniques for using nuclear magnetic resonance to discern the magnetic moment and nuclear spin of atoms, which earn him the Nobel Prize in Physics. Nuclear magnetic resonance becomes an important tool in the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) . (Photo: Nobel Foundation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Caffey publishes a landmark paper in the American Journal of Roentgenology identifying various injury patterns of child abuse on X-ray. The publication, which recommends liberal use of imaging to evaluate injuries in children with long bone fractures or subdural hematomas, leads to recognition of child abuse by the medical community. Caffey goes on to coin the term, "shaken baby syndrome".

Seaman, a radiologist with a focus on the gastrointestinal tract, serves as chair of the department until 1982 and does not fully retire until 1990. He serves as program director of the Radiology Residency for 30 years. (Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Recognizing the need for an organized group to represent the new subspecialty, Taveras brings together 14 neuroradiologists from the United States and Canada for a historic dinner on April 19th at Keens Chop House in New York City. This group becomes the founding members of the new American Society for Neuroradiology (ASNR). (Photo: Eden, Janine and Jim from New York City, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

To address a shortage of radiology technologists, a school with a two-year curriculum is established at Presbyterian Hospital and eight students are enrolled. Clarence Modeste is the first director of the school.  

Picker, a Russian immigrant and graduate of the Columbia College of Pharmacy, is the founder of the Picker X-ray Corporation—the sole supplier of X-ray field equipment to the U.S. Army during World War II, returning all profits from the war back to the U.S. Government. In 1947, Picker and his son establish the Picker Foundation for Radiologic Research, with the objective of fostering research and broadening the scope of radiology. They are also instrumental in establishing radiology as a discipline recognized by the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. William Seaman becomes the first James Picker Professor of Radiology.  (photo from RSNA)

A world-renowned pediatric radiologist, Baker makes contributions to many editions of Caffey’s textbook, which is now called Caffey's Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging. He publishes early seminal articles on pediatric radiology and is responsible for describing the radiologic findings of both common and esoteric diseases of childhood. 

Schwartz is internationally recognized for his expertise in quantitative imaging, artificial intelligence in cancer imaging, and for his pioneering work in the development and validation of novel imaging biomarkers in oncology. As department chair, he establishes an Emergency Radiology Division with 24/7 service and initiates the expansion of the medical centers radiology services into Westchester. (Photo: Diane Bondareff)

Gupta is a renowned physician-scientist specializing in neuroradiology, known for his research evaluating emerging neuroimaging techniques, with a major focus on stroke prevention and cerebrovascular disease assessment. Gupta oversees the expansion of clinical services and reestablishes the department as a major center for radiology research.

Located in the basement of the Neurological Institute of New York, the MRI Center completes a second phase of renovation, bringing the total number of MRI scanners to seven. The center's unique setup incorporates both research and patient diagnostics in one setting,