Robert Morgan (St George’s Hospital NH Foundation Trust, London, UK) was awarded the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR) Gold Medal for distinguished service to the specialty and to the society at the BSIR 2020 annual scientific meeting (1–3 December, online).
“It gives me great pleasure to accept this honour on behalf of the society,” Morgan said. He thanked the BSIR council and officers for volunteering him for the award, saying he is “deeply honoured” for the recognition. He also thanked BSIR members for their support, and his interventional radiology (IR) colleagues at St George’s, saying: “without whom this would not have been possible”.
Speaking in a pre-recorded video, Lakshmi Ratnam (St George’s Hospital, London, UK), chair of the BSIR scientific programme committee, said: “Unfortunately, due to COVID, we are unable to do this [present the Gold Medal at a physical meeting] as we usually would, surrounded by colleagues, peers, and family. I am therefore very grateful today to be joined by the chief medical director of St George’s Hospital in London, Richard Jennings, who will present the Gold Medal to this year’s distinguished recipient, Robert Morgan.”
Keeping a distance of 2m as per COVID-19 regulations in the UK, Jennings presented Morgan with his award by placing it on a bench for the recipient to collect. “He is an exceedingly valued clinical leader here at St George’s,” Jennings said, before thanking Morgan for his work. “All of his colleagues think extremely highly of him, and we are very proud to have him working with us.”
Describing her “colleague, mentor, and friend”, Ratnam said of Morgan: “Robert has had an extremely distinguished career in interventional radiology, and has been an IR consultant here at St George’s for 21 years. He has served the BSIR as a member and chair of multiple committees, and has been a secretary of the society. He has represented UK radiology as a member and chair of multiple committees in the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe [CIRSE], finally culminating in the prestigious role of president of CIRSE in 2017. Robert is current Past President of CIRSE and is a member of the CIRSE Executive Board. Robert is an officer of the BSIR and is the BSIR council lead for strategy and international relations. He has also held several other roles in national and international societies including the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), the UK Endovascular Forum, and the British Society of Endovascular Therapy.
“His main interest within IR has been in vascular disease, both in the role of endografting for diseases of the thoracic and abdominal aorta, and the role of IR in the management of arterial occlusive disease. During his career, he has been at the forefront of many emerging vascular techniques, and has been a great mentor and teacher to many generations of interventional radiologists, myself included.”
She continued: “Despite his countless and impressive achievements, Rob has always remained approachable, and generous with his knowledge and skills. The growth and achievements of the department here at St George’s are a testimony to the ethos that he has been key to building. He continually champions IR as a subspecialty, and is a great role model for future generations of aspiring interventional radiologists.”
Medical background
BSIR vice president Phillip Haslam (Freeman Hospital Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) introduced Morgan to congress attendees, recounting his education background: Morgan trained at Bristol University Medical School (Bristol, UK), before heading to Plymouth, UK, for three years of radiology training, and then to St George’s Hospital in London, UK, for a further two years. He next completed a Fellowship at the University of Texas (Austin, USA) under Eric Van Sonneberg, specialising in hepatobiliary and vascular interventions. Returning to the UK, Morgan was a Fellow under Andreas ‘Andy’ Adams (Guys’ and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) for 18 months, before becoming a consultant at St Mary’s Hospital, London, UK, between 1996 and 1999. He ultimately returned to St George’s Hospital, where he remains as a consultant interventional radiologist and the clinical director for Diagnostics.
The immediate past president of CIRSE, Morgan was instrumental in the development of the European Board of Interventional Radiology (EBIR), a voluntary supplemental examination designed to evaluate interventional radiologists’ clinical and technical knowledge, first released in 2010 in Valencia, Spain.
“He has a long history of involvement with the BSIR,” Haslam continued, “and is currently a co-opted council member”.
Morgan has written over 160 peer-reviewed articles, authored more than 45 book chapters, and edited multiple textbooks, as well as delivered above 300 lectures to international audiences (including the 2017 BSIR Wattie Fletcher Lecture). His main research interests lie in the endovascular treatment of the aorta and peripheral vascular disease, as well as the use of embolization to control haemorrhage, and the treatment of visceral aneurysms. He is the deputy editor-in-chief of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology (CVIR) Endovascular, and has organised many teaching courses throughout his career.
