Dr. Dobranowski named new chair of radiology

A long-time McMaster University professor, Julian Dobranowski (pictured), has been appointed the chair of the Department of Radiology. His five-year term started on Feb. 1, 2020. He is also currently the chief of diagnostic imaging at Niagara Health, as well as the director of the Centre of Radiological Anatomy.

Provincially, he holds the position of provincial head of the Cancer Imaging Program at Cancer Care Ontario and is the clinical lead for Access to Care MRI/CT. In these roles he has gained experience in the examination and mining of large databases.

“Advanced technologies are transforming the world of medicine,” said Dobranowski. “Data rich medical imaging is uniquely positioned in healthcare to lead in this transformation.

“Building on existing excellence in education, my vision is to take this opportunity in time and develop an academic department that is also a leader in research through the development and application of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. We can and will develop the next generation of healthcare technology innovations.”

Dobranowski has been a faculty member since 1988, following his medical training in Poland, radiology training at McMaster and a fellowship at Western University.

His current interests include health services research, patient outcomes, artificial intelligence, decision support and the standardization of clinical practice in diagnostic imaging. Dobranowski continues to initiate the development and implementation of provincial and national quality standards and indicators.

He succeeds David Koff, who served as chair of the department since 2008.

“Dr. Dobranowski brings to this role a wealth of knowledge and experience,” said Paul O’Byrne, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences. “We look forward to his ideas and initiatives. We are also so pleased to have an active staff member of our partner hospital system Niagara Health fill this important role.”