Alexander Gottschalk, MD, is a pioneer researcher and author who has helped to shape modern medical imaging. He worked with the first clinically useful prototype Anger scintillation camera and performed the first dynamic camera studies of the brain and heart with technetium 99m. Dr Gottschalk also made the first dynamic camera studies of the kidneys.

"Alex has made great contributions to radiology and nuclear medicine over a long career during which he has consistently published textbooks in nuclear medicine recognized for their great pedagogical value," said RSNA President Brian C. Lentle, MD. "He was alert and recognized the coming impact of magnetic resonance imaging in the early days of that technology. As one of the principal investigators in the prospective investigation of pulmonary embolism diagnosis (PIOPED) study, Alex greatly helped in our understanding of the natural history and diagnosis of pulmonary embolism."

For his numerous and varied contributions to radiology, RSNA is privileged to present its Gold Medal to Dr Gottschalk. "It is awesome to become a Gold Medalist in this society, a group that contains many of my own role models," said Dr Gottschalk, who is currently the chair of the nuclear medicine working group of PIOPED II.

After earning his bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, and his medical degree from Washington University Medical School in St Louis, where he was Alpha Omega Alpha, Dr Gottschalk completed an internship at the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospitals and a radiology residency at the University of Chicago.

He began his career as a research associate at Donner Laboratory at Lawrence Radiation Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He then spent a decade at the University of Chicago, where he helped form the university's first section of nuclear medicine. While at the University of Chicago, he became a professor of radiology, chief of the nuclear medicine section, chairman of the Department of Radiology, and director of the Argonne Cancer Research Hospital.

As professor of diagnostic radiology, Dr Gottschalk made the move to Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, where he worked with colleagues from cardiology to establish a pioneering cardiovascular nuclear medicine operation. He was also director of the section of nuclear medicine, vice-chairman of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and director of the diagnostic radiology residency program. Currently, he is professor of diagnostic radiology at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.

A dedicated researcher, Dr Gottschalk is author or coauthor of nearly 400 publications including peer-reviewed scientific articles, abstracts, books, and book chapters. For a decade, he was editor-in-chief of the Yearbook of Nuclear Medicine.

Dr Gottschalk has served on committees for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, as well as national committees for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute of General Medicine Sciences, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, where he was chairman of the Residency Review Committee for diagnostic radiology.

Of his numerous awards, the ones he identifies as most dear to him include the gold medal of the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) and being named one of America's Ten Outstanding Young Men of 1967 by the Jaycees.

An RSNA member since 1965, Dr Gottschalk has been an RSNA second vice-president and chairman of the nuclear medicine subcommittee of the RSNA Scientific Program Committee. He is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and the American College of Chest Physicians, a member of many other professional societies, and a past-president of AUR, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, and the Fleischner Society.

Seymour H. Levitt, MD, is a distinguished radiation oncologist and researcher who leads by example with unwavering dedication.

"Seymour has always given great support to RSNA and to the role of radiation oncology in the Society," said RSNA President Brian C. Lentle, MD. "He was quick to recognize and seize upon the increasing importance of imaging to define tumor volumes as radiation oncology became ever more precise in defining cancers and the dose and dose fractionation used to treat them".

RSNA is pleased to present Dr Levitt with its Gold Medal in recognition of research excellence and his work in advancing the field of radiation oncology.

"This organization has been one of the most important aspects of my professional career," said Dr Levitt, who has been an RSNA member since 1965. "The opportunity to serve the Society as an officer and member of the Board increased my involvement and made me aware of RSNA's outstanding character, commitment, and dedication to the science and practice of radiology, and to the patients it serves. To receive this medal from my colleagues and friends representing this wonderful organization is surely the seminal event of my professional career. I will truly treasure this award because of the outstanding nature of this society and the award's significance."

A Phi Beta Kappa, Dr Levitt graduated cum laude from the University of Colorado, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha and earned his bachelor's and medical degrees. He completed his internship at Philadelphia General Hospital and his residencies in internal medicine and radiology at the University of California, San Francisco. He also was an American Cancer Society Clinical Fellow.

Dr Levitt's long and distinguished career includes positions at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, the University of Oklahoma Medical Center, and the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Since 1970, Dr Levitt has been in Minneapolis, where he has served as head and clinical chief of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology-Radiation Oncology at the University of Minnesota and as chief of the therapeutic radiology service at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. Currently, he is a professor of therapeutic radiology-radiation oncology at the University of Minnesota and is a foreign adjunct professor at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

A consummate researcher, Dr Levitt is author or coauthor of nearly 300 publications including peer-reviewed papers, books, and book chapters. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. He also serves or has served on editorial or advisory boards for ACTA Oncologica, Breast Disease, Breast Diseases, Cancer, and the American Journal of Clinical Oncology and is a reviewer for RadioGraphics.

Dr Levitt has been awarded honorary membership in the Deutsche Rontgengesellschaft, the European Congress of Radiology, the German Radiation Oncology Society, and the Gilbert Fletcher Society. He has received a gold medal from the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), the American Radium Society, and the Gilbert Fletcher Society. The University of Colorado has recognized Dr Levitt with a distinguished service award and with an honorary doctor of science degree. Xian Medical University in China has made him an honorary professor.

Dr Levitt has been very active in RSNA, serving on the RSNA Board of Directors and as 1999 RSNA president. Dr Levitt is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists. He has also served in leadership roles for various other medical societies, including the American Cancer Society, the American Board of Radiology, ACR, ASTRO, the American Medical Association, the American Radium Society, the International Society of Radiation Oncology, and the Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments.

John G. McAfee, MD, is an active researcher and scholar in nuclear medicine whose groundbreaking work has led to significant medical advances, especially in blood cell labeling.

"John's commitment to research and teaching has been monumental," said RSNA President Brian C. Lentle, MD. "Working at the State University of New York with Dr Subramanian, John developed the first technetium 99m-labeled phosphate bone scanning agents, and, while on sabbatical in Great Britain, he found other radioactive agents with Dr Matthew Thakur, which irreversibly labeled blood cells for imaging their organ distribution. These have become among the most widely used procedures not only in nuclear medicine, but also in radiology as a whole."

For his significant commitment to nuclear medicine and research, RSNA is honored to present its Gold Medal to Dr McAfee.

"I am greatly honored to receive such a prestigious award from RSNA, an organization that I have always respected," said Dr McAfee. "I remember attending my first RSNA meeting when I was a resident. The professionalism of the meeting and of the Society made a most favorable impression on me. I also remember the thrill of presenting my first paper at RSNA. It is a privilege to be recognized by such a prominent group."

Born and raised in Canada, Dr McAfee received his medical degree in 1948 from the University of Toronto and completed internships at Victoria Hospital and Westminster Hospital, both in London, Ontario. He completed radiology residencies at Victoria Hospital and The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where he also completed a fellowship.

Dr McAfee remained at Johns Hopkins for more than a decade as a staff radiologist, becoming chief of diagnosis and, later, in charge of nuclear medicine. He then spent 25 years at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse as chair and director of radiologic sciences. During that time, Dr McAfee and Henry N. Wagner, Jr, MD, imaged the kidneys with radiomercury-labeled chlormerodrin. This event, in 1965, is listed by the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) as an historic moment in nuclear medicine.

In 1990, Dr McAfee moved to Washington, DC, where he was a professor of radiology at the George Washington University Medical Center. He was also a consultant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in nuclear medicine. In 1993, he became a full-time staff member in nuclear medicine at the NIH Clinical Center in charge of radiopharmaceutical research.

An internationally renowned expert in nuclear medicine, Dr McAfee has served on a number of committees for NIH and the National Academy of Sciences. He was named a most frequently cited author of papers in Radiology 1955–1986. He is author or coauthor of more than 300 papers, book chapters, and abstracts. He holds the U.S. and Canadian patents for bone-seeking technetium-99m complexes and technetium 99m stannous imidodiphosphonate.

The radiology community has recognized Dr McAfee with numerous honors and awards. RSNA presented him with a citation at RSNA 1986, and he delivered the Diamond Jubilee Lecture on "Nuclear Medicine Comes of Age: Its Present and Future Roles in Diagnosis" at RSNA 1989. Dr McAfee is the recipient of a gold medal from SNM and also received SNM's George Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award and the Paul C. Aebersold Award. He was also honored with the Herrmann L. Blumgart Award from the New England Chapter of SNM and The Johns Hopkins Alumni Award in Nuclear Medicine.

An RSNA member since 1956, Dr McAfee also belongs to several other societies, including SNM, the American College of Nuclear Physicians, and the International Society of Radiolabeled Blood Elements.