Dr. Roger Harvey was the Chairman of the University of Illinois Radiology between the years 1946 and 1970. He received his MD degree from the University of Rochester. Dr. harvery carried out the first radiation treatment with a Betatron unit, and reported good results in 23 inoperable cancers. He was a research associate of the Manhattan Project in WWII. In 1968, when he was the President of the American Cancer Society, he cautioned that lung cancer death rate in women, historically lower than men, was beginning to show a steady rise. Dr. Harvey was the longest serving Radiology Chairman at the University of Illinois. Unfortunately, the 1971 class of residents did not meet him but we learned from the staff of the staff of the department that he was a great scientist and a kind man.
Dr. Vlastimil Capek a native of Czechoslovakia was born in 1923. He graduated from Charles University in Prague in 1950. He did his residency at Cheb hospital and worked as a staff radiologist. Dr. Capek experienced difficulties WWII. He escaped his native country after the Soviet Union invaded Chechoslovakia. He first moved to Austria and then to the United States. He first job in the new country was as a dark technician at UIC. When Dr. Harvey, the Chairman of Radiology realized the potential of the immigrant, and he advised him to take the State and Radiology boards which Dr. Capek passed. He was hired as the chief of the section of angiography. Dr. Capek who had learned the Seldinger technique while in Europe, introduced it at UIC and Chicago as well. Residents learned this advanced technique of catheterising vessels without a cutdown or direct stick. When Dr. Harvey retired Dr. Edwin Liebner was appointed interim chair. Dr. Capek was appointed the Head of the Department in 1975. Among his other interests were diagnostic ultrasound. Among his other interests were diagnostic ultrasound including the purchase of Picker ultrasound unit with an articulated arm. I assisted him as a resident in the performance of the studies and when his administrative duties kept him busy, I did them. Dr. Capek became an honorary member of the Greek Radiological Society. He and his wife had two sons both of whom became radiologists. After his retirement he moved to Santa Rosa, California. Dr. Capek was more than a mentor to me, he was a second father.
Dr. Steve Pinsky, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1942 and died at the age of 62. He went to College at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in 1967 he received his MD degree from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University, Chicago. He was further trained in Nuclear Medicine and Radiology at the University of Chicago.
He became a professor of Radiology at both the University of Chicago Medical School and the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine. He also served as Chairman of Radiology at Michael Reese Hospital and Chief of Radiology at the University of Illinois Medical Center.
He was a gold medal recipient of the Chicago Radiological Society, and served as president of both the Central Chapter of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and the Illinois Radiological Society. He was a fellow of both the American College of Nuclear Physicians and the American College of Radiology. His special interests included travel, and he was a voracious reader but above all it was his devotion to his family.
Dr. Mahmood Mafee was a native of Iran. He received his MD degree at the University of Tehran in 1969. Dr. Mafee did his radiology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and the University of Illinois in Chicago. Mahmood was a junior resident of the class of 1971-1974 at UIC. He was hard working and was obvious to me that he would progress in academia and make great contributions in our field. He did a fellowship of ENT radiology with Dr. Valvassori. Upon Dr. Valvassori's retirement he became the chief of ENT radiology at the Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. In 1977 he became an Assistant Professor later progressing to Associate and then Professor. Dr. Mafee wrote more than 120 papers, and gave many lectures as an invited speaker. He served on the editorial boards of several Radiology journals, and was the President of the President of the American Society of Head and Neck Radiology. He became the Chairman of the Department at UIC after Dr. Pinsky retired. He lead the department until his retirement in1994 when he moved to California. Dr. Mafee is still active in academia and is currently reviewing the new edition of Mafee-Valvassori book on Head and Neck Radiology. He recently visited Chicago to celebrate the Persian New Year with his children who live the Windy City. God speed Mahmood.
Dr. Masoud Hemmati was born and raised in Tehran, Iran. His medical education was in University of Tehran College of Medicine (1962-1968). In 1969, he did an internship at the University of Tehran Hospitals and he was a Research Associate in the Institute of Experimental Medicine from 1971 to 1973. When he immigrated to the United States, he did an internship at Saint Joseph Hospital in 1973, and a residency in Radiology at Northwestern Hospital from 1974 to 1977. He received a post graduate degree in Management from the Webster School of Management in 1992. He was recruited by Dr. Mafee to serve as Vice Chairman, and lead the business operation of the department. He became the Head of the Department from 2003 to 2014. He was an affable man who kept colleagues and referring physicians ease. He moved to Arizona when he retired.
Dr. Charles Ray was born in Cincinnati, Ohio but grew in Chicagoland. He received his MD degree from Rush Medical College and did his internship at Loyola MacNeal Hospital from 1989 to 1990, and his radiology residency at UC from 1990-1994. Upon completion of his residency he did a fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Interventional Radiology. His interest and subspecialty was interventional and vascular radiology in which he has numerous publications in respected journals. Dr. Ray served as President of the Society of Interventional Radiology. His first paper was on three-dimensional CT of imaging in Head and Neck pathology with Dr. Mafee, whom he considers one of his greatest mentors. Two papers with Dr. Andrew Wilbur about complications after laparoscopic cholecystectomy and complications of inferior vena can filters drew international recognition. He became the Head of the department of Radiology at UIC from 2014 to 2024 and served as Interim Executive Dean of the College of Medicine in Chicago. He is certified by the American Board of Radiology and is licensed to practice in Illinois, Colorado and Utah. When he retired from UIC, he moved to Utah, where he is still practicing part time. I knew Chuck from the time we were both in Chicago, he at UIC and I at CCH, as we shared a life-long interest in Interventional Radiology. I thank Chuck for being a good friend and for providing with information when I was writing this post.
This post was authored by D G Spigos, MD, PhD, former Professor at the University of Illinois and Chairman at Cook County Hospital and the Ohio State University
The post is dedicated in memory of Walter Tan who worked as my associate at UIC division of interventional radiology until his retirement. He was was born in Burma and was a hard-working man with a genial personality. Unfortunately, he passed soon after his retirement due to Alzheimer disease. Dr. Tan is missed by all who knew him. The post is also dedicated to Dr. Vera Hlaing, a native of Burma who received her degree from Mandalay University. Her residency was the Department of Pathology at UIC. Upon graduation she became an attending at Kaiser Permanente in Honolulu, Hawaii. When she returned in Chicago, she became the Chief of Pathology at Provident Hospital. Vera help me when I was doing experimental work for my PhD thesis on Splenic embolization. Knowing and interacting with Walter and Vera helped advance my career. I suspect most readers do not know them but do know about the catastrophic earthquake that had its epicenter in Mandalay Burma (Myanmar), a city that was the center of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning. More than three thousand people perished, and the destruction of sacred pagodas and other buildings is unimaginable.