Patricia A. Hudgins, MD, 43rd President of the ASNR

Robert M. Quencer

On May 25, 2005 Patricia Hudgins, MD, became the 43rd President of the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), a position which followed her service in 2004 as the 28th President of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology (ASHNR). In the February 2005 issue of the AJNR, Bill Dillon wrote a biography of Pat in recognition of her role in the ASHNR. It gave a clear look at Pat, as she grew up in the Northeast, and it followed her education and her growth as a physician to her current positions of major responsibility, both at Emory University and within the ASNR. I urge you to read this (AJNR 2005;25:433–434) to get a sense of the accomplishments of the person who is now leading our society.

Because Bill Dillon traced Pat’s life so well up to 2005, I will deviate a bit from the usual biography to give our readers an idea of the ethos of a person who cares about the well-being of others. Pat’s decision to become a physician was in her words “not a eureka moment”; rather it developed gradually as she was growing up simply because she wanted to help and care for the sick. This led to an early career choice to be a primary care physician, and in fact Pat spent one year as a resident in Internal Medicine at UCSF but she took the patients’ troubles, which were often not medical at all but related to family or social difficulties, so to heart that she rethought her career and fortunately for our society decided on a career in radiology.

Her entry into the field of head and neck radiology is described in the biography by Bill Dillon. When asked what she considered her most important publications and contributions to radiology, she quickly replied that they were those that dealt with the complications and the imaging appearances following head and neck surgery (for example, AJNR 1992; 13:1161–1167, AJNR 1994;15:1689–1694, ANJR 2005;26:1174–1177). Her contributions, as we all know, go well beyond those and the other numerous publications she has authored; as a matter of fact Pat as Director of Neuroradiology at Emory measures her professional success by the quality and achievements of those who have been taught by her and other members of that neuroradiology section.

Stepping beyond radiology, we see in Pat a person who has had an unbiding interest in fairness and equal opportunity, and an idealism that unfortunately is in short supply these days. For example she has special interest in developing guidelines to assure equity for the faculty in all facets of their academic life. To that end she has chaired the Dean’s committee at Emory on the status of women and has helped to establish policies for women who hold part-time faculty positions. A genuine spirituality and a desire to better the conditions of her fellow man come through clearly when speaking in depth with Pat. Whether devoting her vacation time to help paint homes in a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, laying concrete floors for the poor in Honduras, or standing outside Grady Hospital in the early morning hours to hand out food to the homeless, we can see that in Pat we have a selfless and compassionate person. It is no wonder that in the future when she steps down from her position at Emory, Pat intends to return to primary care and work for Doctors Without Borders.

In the meantime, Pat will be turning her attention to ASNR matters and will concentrate on 3 major items: a reevaluation of the requirements for neuroradiology fellowships, a review of the nomination and election process for the ASNR, and a reexamination of the dues structure of the Society.

The ASNR could not have at its helm a more thoughtful, caring, or talented individual.