Martin Pomper, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Radiology, is seeking to adopt the latest in technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to make strides in the fields of molecular-genetic imaging and cancer therapy. An internationally recognized leader in radiology and nuclear medicine, Dr. Pomper joined UT Southwestern Medical Center to help advance innovation in diagnostic imaging and therapy. Originally from Chicago, Dr. Pomper brings with him a wealth of expertise shaped by decades of impactful research and leadership, focusing on the intersection of these specialties.

Before joining UTSW, Dr. Pomper served as a faculty member in the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at Johns Hopkins University for nearly 30 years, where he was also Director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

In his research, Dr. Pomper primarily focuses on the development of new imaging and therapeutic agents for cancer and central nervous system diseases. Dr. Pomper’s work has resulted in the discovery and development of small molecules targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) for imaging and molecular radiotherapy – with the Food and Drug Administration approving Pylarify, an imaging agent used with positron emission tomography (PET) to help detect and monitor prostate cancer.

What are your goals for the Department and how have they evolved?

Due to increased and accelerating demand for our services, there is a national shortage of radiologists. Accordingly, my main goal is to ensure adequate staffing. Recruitment and retention have been paramount during my one-year-plus time here. Another major goal is for us to contribute meaningfully to the Health System through both clinical and research collaborations, including applications for federal funding. Our shared vision is to lead in patient-centered care through innovation in education, technology, and image-guided therapies. More specifically, radiology is moving in the direction of high-value precision care, enhanced by rapidly evolving machine-learning technology. I want to make sure that radiologists can contribute to such advances and innovations in our field. Upon arrival and getting to know the faculty, I have come to see how remarkably talented they are and how much more rapidly we can progress in these areas than I initially anticipated.

Since joining the Department as Chair, what achievements are you most proud of?

I am proudest of the fact that since I joined, the number of faculty in the Department has remained largely stable, despite tremendous local and national competition for radiologists – with the important nuance that new faculty have been hired strategically to contribute to our missions in research and innovation. Our robust system and set of quality metrics allow us to be confident that the care we provide remains unparalleled. I am also proud that we have such a positive and collaborative environment despite the mounting pressures of increasing volumes and greater demand for our services. The faculty have proved remarkably resilient in that regard, and I have been very impressed by their flexibility and good ideas, enabling us to improve continually.

Looking ahead, what advances and achievements do you anticipate emerging from your Department?

In the near term, I anticipate that we will have a suite of tools that employ artificial intelligence to enhance workflow, understand disease better, and perhaps even enable prognosis. We are fortunate to be relatively sophisticated in AI implementation already. With several key incoming recruits, and the recent formation of our AIR (AI in Radiology) Hub, I am confident that with appropriate leveraging of resources and strategic collaborations around the Medical Center, we will impact UT Southwestern and medicine for the better. We are also strategically hiring individuals whose work related to imaging is somewhat upstream of image acquisition. In other words, we’re hiring physicists, chemists, biologists, and chemical biologists who can implement AI and synthesize new imaging and therapeutic agents. As we have done previously, we ultimately hope to produce commercially viable agents answering unmet needs across a variety of illnesses.

• Dr. Pomper holds the Effie and Wofford Cain Distinguished Chair in Diagnostic Imaging.