The Miller School at the Society for Interventional Radiology Annual Meeting
Summary
- Faculty, staff, residents and medical students representing the Miller School’s Department of Interventional Radiology were recognized and featured for their expertise and research at the 2025 SIR annual meeting.
- Maria del Pilar Bayona Molano, M.D., received the Top Reviewer Award from the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.
- Alan Sag, M.D., was honored with the prestigious FSIR designation.
Researchers in the Department of Interventional Radiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine were honored for their expertise and invited to share knowledge on a range of timely topics at the 2025 Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) annual meeting.
Maria del Pilar Bayona Molano, M.D., associate professor of interventional radiology at the Miller School, received the Top Reviewer Award from the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology.
“This is particularly meaningful to me because this journal is recognized as a leading authority in the field of interventional radiology in the United States and globally. Its influence in setting guidelines, driving innovations and advancing the specialty makes it an essential platform for the development of our field,” said Dr. Molano, who was a panelist, speaker and coordinator for sessions focused on portal vein thrombosis and portal hypertension at the meeting.
Innovators in Interventional Radiology
Alan Sag, M.D., was invited by SIR to coordinate, moderate and lecture at the meeting’s inaugural thyroid radiofrequency ablation and embolization course.
“Patients across the country are requesting less invasive treatments for benign thyroid conditions, and this year SIR requested a master class-level course to upskill specialists in these procedures. We were honored to be tapped to lead,” said Dr. Sag, a nationally recognized scholar. “We are poised to lead the nation in minimally invasive therapies directed toward patients with benign thyroid conditions who are not surgical candidates.”
Dr. Sag also was honored at the meeting as a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology. Only 15% of interventional radiologists have achieved the designation, which represents a decade of excellence in the specialty.
Miller School faculty stood out as innovators in discussions of interventional oncology fundamentals in university care, with a focus on portal hypertension and its significant impact on transplant programs.
“This is an area that is critically important, as it bridges the gap between interventional techniques and their practical applications in patient care, particularly in the context of liver disease and transplant patients,” Dr. Molano said.
Miller School faculty introduced an innovative approach to education with the creation of the “escape room,” an interactive teaching concept that emphasizes teamwork and play and a first-of-its-kind SIR activity.
The Spectrum of Interventional Radiology Expertise
Miller School providers discussed relevant and timely topics during SIR’s advanced practice providers sessions.
“Their insights were invaluable and showcased their essential role in advancing the field,” Dr. Molano said.
The Miller School’s Arais Cavada, ARNP, joined a SIR committee that is formulating the first-ever interventional radiology certification for advanced registered nurse practitioners. Currently, there is no certification exam for interventional radiology APRNs.
Miller School residents and medical students presented for faculty members on a wide range of topics, including research by:
• Issam Kably, M.D., on arterial endovascular therapy for erectile dysfunction
• Usman Shahid, M.D., and Lindsay Thornton, M.D., on correlating underdosed regions from voxel-based dosimetry with cone-beam computed tomography perfusion and single-photon emission computed tomography
• Zoe Miller, M.D., on adrenal vein sampling lateralization and a specific imaging landmark for successful cannulation in adrenal vein sampling
• Joseph Zikria, M.D., about an alternative to lung shunt fraction measurement in Yttrium-90 radioembolization
Bedros Taslakian, M.D., who is joining the Miller School’s Department of Interventional Radiology later this year, was honored at SIR with the 2024 JVIR People’s Choice Award and the 2024 JVIR Peer’s Choice Award.
“We also are proud of our administrators, who actively participated in the business meetings, sharing the latest advancements and focusing on the newest implementations in health care administration,” Dr. Molano said. “It was exciting to see how our collective contributions fit into the larger conversation about the evolution of interventional radiology and how these discussions are pushing boundaries for better patient outcomes.”
Laurence Sands, M.D., M.B.A., the department’s interim chair, said the SIR meeting reflected the depth and quality of “the incredible team that serves the Miller School and community so well. I am committed to working hard to build a stronger department, recruiting top talent from around the globe to complement our current faculty.”
Tags: Department of Interventional Radiology, Dr. Alan Sag, Dr. Bedros Taslakian, Dr. Joseph Zikria, Dr. M. Issam Kably, Dr. Maria del Pilar Bayona Molano, Dr. Muhammad Usman Shahid, Dr. Zoe Miller, interventional radiology, Society of Interventional Radiology