The UNC Department of Radiology (Chapel Hill, USA) recently named Gloria Salazar, as the department’s next division chief of vascular and interventional radiology (VIR).
Following selection from a competitive pool of candidates nationwide, Salazar began leading the VIR division as an associate professor of radiology in October 2021.
Salazar was recruited to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)’s Department of Radiology (Boston, USA) in 2008 as an assistant radiologist, following three years of clinical research and advanced clinical interventional radiology (IR) fellowship training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, USA. With over twelve years at MGH, she has built an institutional leadership record, major roles including outpatient IR medical director, Waltham Vein Center (Boston, USA) medical director, fibroids programme co-director, simulation and patient experience officer, and Department of Radiology quality and safety chair.
Salazar is established as a women’s health advocate, subspecialty expert, and practitioner volunteer to the underserved. In collaboration with MGH’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, she co-developed the institution’s programme for fibroids to create a multidisciplinary clinic that improves patient-centred care and informed decision-making for women seeking treatment for fibroids. Her strong belief in outreach to underserved populations led Salazar to join MGH’s Spanish language care medical group during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic surge to deliver volunteer care to COVID-19 non-English speaking patients. She also served as a faculty proctor and invited speaker at the inaugural Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Giveback Program (2019, El Salvador). This programme aims to expand options in minimally invasive procedures in Latin American countries to help underserved women avoid hysterectomies.
As a scholar, Salazar is routinely invited to speak worldwide at conferences and symposia on wide-ranging topics in IR, including quality assurance, procedural treatment, practice quality improvement (IR/general radiology), the value of simulation, and women’s health. She has co-authored multiple publications and book chapters and served as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI of multiple clinical trials and has a strong collaborative record with industry partners in her subspecialty. She is additionally an active SIR member, having served in major leadership roles including:
1) SIR Women’s Health Service line chair
2) SIR Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) advisory board member
3) SIR International Exchange committee member.
Maureen Kohi, UNC Radiology Department chair, noted: “I am confident that Salazar’s exceptional clinical acumen, her national and international reputation as a VIR leader, and her commitment to research and education will continue to elevate our outstanding VIR Division.”
UNC Department of Radiology thanks interim Charles Burke, VIR division chief, UNC Radiology Department, for his dedication and service within the VIR Division and across the department.
