A new professorship established by Duane and Dorothy Bluemke will solidify the importance of collaboration within engineering and medical fields and honor David A. Bluemke, MD, PhD’s career and contributions to the field of radiology.
“We are long-time supporters of the University of Wisconsin, and because our son, Dr. David Bluemke, has made significant impacts in three different areas in the field of radiology during his career, we agreed it would be desirable to fund a professorship in his name,” says Duane Bluemke.
Dr. Bluemke joined the Department of Radiology as a professor (CHS) in the Thoracic Imaging and Cardiovascular Imaging sections in 2017. He came to UW from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he was radiologist-in-chief at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, tenured senior investigator at the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and Clinical Center, and adjunct senior investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Prior to that, Dr. Bluemke was professor of radiology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Bluemke has authored more than 600 publications in the areas of diagnostic radiology and cardiovascular disease, including his work as principal investigator for MRI studies in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
In addition to his contributions to the field through his research, he has also led major strides to improve the reach and engagement of radiology research articles. In 2018, he assumed the position of editor-in-chief of the journal Radiology, the field’s most prominent scholarly journal. During his tenure, Dr. Bluemke initiated broad scale publication of editorials by world experts, started podcasts to explain articles, increased the journal’s social media presence, and published more review articles. Under his guidance, the journal’s impact factor increased from 11.1 to 29.1.
Dr. Bluemke has also been recognized for his contributions to the next generation of radiologists. In 2022, the Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA) recognized him as an Honored Educator, a distinction which recognizes his dedication to furthering the profession of radiology by delivering high-quality educational content.
The Endowed Professorship enhances Radiology’s ability to recruit, retain and recognize outstanding faculty. “We expect the professorship funding will be used to attract new or retain existing talent to the department, which is a similar goal of the professorship that we previously established in the UW engineering department,” says Duane Bluemke. “We also hope this gift would encourage others who have the financial capability to support the Radiology Department and the University of Wisconsin.”