St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to launch new Department of Imaging Sciences
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital will soon enjoy an entirely new department dedicated to harnessing the power of imaging technology to improve the diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancers.
The new Department of Imaging Sciences will be spearheaded by Elizabeth M.C. Hillman, PhD, a physicist, biomedical engineer, neuroscience researcher and inventor. Hillman will serve as the department’s founding chair.
Prior to her new role, Hillman served Columbia University as a Herbert and Florence Irving Professor in the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, and a tenured professor for the university’s departments of biomedical engineering and radiology. She has a strong background in imaging research, having studied its capabilities both on a cellular and whole-body level. Her new role will allow her to combine this knowledge to develop new imaging and data analysis methods that integrate radiologic images with cellular data.
“Environment plays a key role in innovation,” Hillman said in an announcement on the new department. “St. Jude is a unique place, where talented and passionate researchers are trying to answer really challenging questions to save children’s lives. I can’t imagine a more inspiring environment for innovation, or a better place to see the immediate impact of our discoveries.”
In that same announcement, James R. Downing, MD, president and CEO of St. Jude, expressed enthusiasm for how Hillman can advance St. Jude’s ability to advance research that will benefit their patients.
“We quickly realized that we wanted her to build and lead not just a center of excellence but a full academic department,” Downing said. “As part of our culture of innovation, Elizabeth will recruit talented faculty who will push the frontier of imaging to transform basic and clinical research for children everywhere.”
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital treats nearly 10,000 pediatric patients requiring cancer care annually. The hospital provides outpatient housing for patients and their families while children are under their care and does not bill families for these accommodations. It is among the most respected children’s cancer research centers in the world.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.