ISCD 2008 Candidates - Biographical Sketches

The 2008 ISCD Elections online voting will be open 11/14/2007 to 12/14/2007.   Voting members with an e-mail address on file will receive an electronic inviation to vote.  Other voting members will receive a paper ballot by mail.  If you have any questions about the election, Jean Fazzino.

Susan B. Broy, MD, FACP, FACR, CCD

Dr. Susan Broy is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Chicago Medical School, a board-certified rheumatologist in clinical practice and the Director of Osteoporosis at Illinois Bone and Joint Institute in Morton Grove.  Dr. Broy received her MD from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and a fellowship in Rheumatology at Northwestern University in Chicago.  In 1984, Dr. Broy received the “Outstanding Resident of the Year” award and in 1990 the “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” at Lutheran General Hospital.

Dr. Broy has a special interest in osteoporosis, has been the principal investigator in 24 osteoporosis trials and developed a comprehensive osteoporosis center in 1986.  She has been a member of the core faculty of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) since 1997, and is Chair of the VFA committee for ISCD.  In 1993 she was recognized in Chicago Magazine’s list of 212 top doctors in the Chicago area for her work in osteoporosis.  In 1998, Dr. Broy received the annual Award of Merit from the Illinois Public Health Association “for her key role in contributing to the success of the federally funded Illinois Osteoporosis Awareness Initiative.”   She has published in various scientific journals including:  Journal of the American Medical Association, Arthritis and Rheumatism, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Menopause, Journal of Rheumatology, Arthritis Care and Research.            

Kathryn M. Diemer, MD, CCD

Dr. Diemer was born and raised in St. Louis, Mo.  She attended the University of Missouri –Kansas City, which is a six-year, combined BA-MD program.  She graduated with Honors with a BA in Biology and her Medical degree in 1985.  She served her internship in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City before returning to St. Louis.  In 1986, Dr. Diemer began her residency training in Internal Medicine at the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis at Washington University School of Medicine.  She served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine in 1989.  In 1990, she began work with Dr. Louis Avioli who was Chief of the Division of Bone and Mineral Metabolism at Washington University School of Medicine.  She has been a faculty member and attending physician in the Bone Health Program since 1990.  Dr. Diemer presently serves as the Clinical Director of the Bone Health Program seeing patients with osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases.  She is actively involved in the education of the Washington University housestaff, fellows, faculty and medical students on the subject of osteoporosis and bone densitometry.  She is a certified bone densitometrist and is a faculty member for the International Society of Clinical Densitometry.  She has lectured both nationally and internationally on the subjects of osteoporosis and bone densitometry. In recognition of her excellence in patient care, Dr. Diemer was recently named in the St. Louis Magazine as one of St. Louis’ 100 Best Doctors.

Dr. Diemer is also involved with medical education.  She served as the associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis from 1992 – 1995.  When Barnes and Jewish Hospital merged their residency programs, Dr. Diemer was involved with the development of the Primary Care Residency Program and served as the Associate Program Director from 1995 – 1999.  She presently is the Assistant Dean of Career Counseling at Washington University School of Medicine where she writes the Dean’s Letters and counsels the fourth year students on residency training. Dr. Diemer also serves on the CME Committee, Publications Committee and is a recipient of the ISCD Clinical Instructor of the Year award.

Didier B. Hans, PhD, PD, MBA, CCD
Dr. Hans, is currently Head of the Research and Development in the Radiology Department, Nuclear Medicine Division at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is also a co-founder of Synarc, Inc.  He has 18 years of Clinical Research experience and is recognized as an expert on the cutting edge of Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) and Quantitative Ultrasound Systems (QUS) technologies.  He has particular expertise in validating and optimizing new technologies as well as developing DXA and ultrasound protocol, quality assurance and training of research assistants for large, multi-center clinical trials.

Dr. Hans has a Ph.D. in human biology and medical physics, with honors, from Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France and was a recipient of the Young Investigators Award from the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting in 1995.  He also has a Masters of Science degree, with honors, in Medical Physics from Claude Bernard University.  More recently, Dr Didier Hans accomplished an executive MBA with honors from the “Hautes Etudes Commercials (HEC) at Geneva University in Switzerland. He is an active member of eight international societies and advisory boards. He continues to teach courses in DXA, Ultrasound and Osteoporosis and lectures around the world. Dr. Hans received the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) clinician of the year award  in 2006 for distinguished services to the field of bone densitometry. He serves as a reviewer for seven international scientific journals, has published more than 90 articles and has contributed chapters to over 20 books.

Dr. Hans was the Director of the Quality Assurance Center for Clinical Research and the Associate Director of Research and Development for the ultrasound unit at the Osteoporosis and Arthritis Research Group (OARG) of the University of California San Francisco, San Francisco CA.  OARG later became Synarc, Inc. Also, he has held similar positions in Europe at the Centre d’Epidémiologie des Ostéoporoses in Lyon, France.  While at d’Epidémiologie des Ostéoporoses, he was Director of the Bone Densitometry and new technologies department, as well as Director of the Quality Control Department.

Akira Itabashi, M.D., Ph.D., CCD

Dr. Akira Itabashi is an endocrinologist who has been involved in the bone densitometry and the treatment of osteoporosis in Japan.

As a graduate of University of Tokyo Medical School, he was involved in water and mineral metabolism and spent three years in Denver with Profs Robert Schrier and Laurence Chan. In 1985 he returned to Japan and moved to Saitama Medical School. In 1989 he was asked to join the task force to develop a guideline to evaluate osteoporosis drugs in Japan. Since then he started to work in bone densitometry and finally got to know ISCD. He attended the course and the position development conference in Denver in 2001 as a first Japanese attendee and joined ISCD there.
As a member of Asian-Pacific Panel of ISCD international relationships and as a Board member, he is organizing an ISCD training course in Japan performed in Japanese. As the president of the Japanese Society for Bone Morphometry, he organized an International Symposium of Bone Strength in June, 2005 in Tokyo. He also served as a co-chair of the 17th International Bone Densitometry Workshop in Kyoto, November 2006.

As a principal investigator as well as a member of steering committees or as a consultant to many Japanese and global companies, he has been involved in many clinical trials of osteoporosis drug development and his current efforts focus in joining the global trials from Japan to facilitate the drug approval process and to investigate the ethnic differences of the response to the osteoporosis treatment.

Larry Jankowski, CDT

Larry Jankowski is the chief clinical and research DXA technologist for Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.  He started clinical imaging as a nuclear medicine technologist in 1978, performing dual and single photon absorptiometry since 1987, and DXA since 1990.  He is also registered in radiology (limited), and is certified by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD).

In addition to his clinical and research duties, he is a member of the ISCD’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and the editorial board for the Journal of Clinical Densitometry. He has presented numerous posters on bone densitometry at scientific meetings, including the ASBMR, AAOS, NOF, and ISCD.  He was named ISCD Technologist of the Year in 2001, co-chaired the Planning Committee for the ISCD’s 2002 annual meeting, and is a clinical instructor for the ISCD Physician and Technologist Certification Programs.  In 1996 he co-authored the ASRT Curriculum Guide for Programs in Bone Densitometry, and most recently received the Wyeth-Ayrest Young Investigators Award in Bone Densitometry for 2004, and ISCD Technologist Instructor of the Year in 2005.

When not involved in bone densitometry, Larry is his kids’ dad (pardon Dr. Laura), enjoys carpentry, fishing, and scuba diving, and helps his wife (the same one for the last 25 years) around the house.

Andrew J. Laster, MD, FACR, CCD

Andrew J. Laster, MD, FACR, CCD is a partner in a 6 member rheumatology group in Charlotte, North Carolina and has been in private practice since 1986. He is an Assistant Consulting Professor of Medicine at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and Clinical Instructor in Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. Dr. Laster earned his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and did his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He completed his fellowship in Rheumatology at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Laster is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. Dr Laster has been an active member in the ISCD for over 10 years and currently serves as Vice President and co-chair of Public Policy. In 2007 he received the Paul D Miller Award for distinguished service and dedication to the ISCD.  Dr Laster was a panelist for the ISCD Position Development Conferences in Denver (2000), Cincinnati (2003) and Vancouver (2005). He also serves on the ISCD clinical faculty as a lecturer for both the Bone Densitometry Course and the Vertebral Fracture Assessment Course. In 2000, Dr Laster was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina to be the physician representative for the North Carolina Osteoporosis Task Force. He chaired the committee which drafted a bill, since ratified, that mandates insurance coverage for DXA studies of qualified non-Medicare beneficiaries in North Carolina. Dr Laster has been a principal investigator in multiple clinical trials in both post-menopausal and steroid-induced osteoporosis. He serves as a faculty member and consultant for a number of pharmaceutical companies, as well as a lecturer at CME programs in the field of osteoporosis.

Brian Lentle, MD, DMRD, FRCPC, FACR, FRCR, CCD

Dr. Lentle graduated MB, BCh from the Welsh School of Medicine and then obtained an MD by thesis. Subsequently he was educated in radiology in the UK and Canada (U. of Alberta) and in nuclear medicine at McGill University, obtaining a DMRD and being certified in both specialties by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Dr. Lentle moved to the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia in 1986 to be Head of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, and in 1991 was appointed as Professor and Head of the Department of Radiology at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre.  He now serves as a consultant at the Children's and Women's Hospital of BC, being responsible for the densitometry service, and is an Emeritus Professor of Radiology at the University of British Columbia.  He served on the Editorial Board of the Annals of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and now reviews for CMAJ. Radiology and the Journal of Clinical Densitometry.  Dr. Lentle was Chair of the Programme Committee for the International Congress of Radiology held In Montreal In June 2004.  He Is currently a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry and is Chair of the CME Committeee of that organization.

Having received the annual teaching awards in both radiology and nuclear medicine at UBC, Dr. Lentle was made a Fellow of the American College of Radiology in 1998 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists in 2005.  In 2004 Dr. Lentle was awarded the Gold Medal of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and made an Honorary Member of the Italian Society of Radiology. In 2005 he was made an honorary member of the European Association of Radiology and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and awarded an Honorary  Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists.  More recently he has been made the 2007 Emeritus Member of the Canadian Association of Nuclear Medicine.  Dr. Lentle has published over 145 scientific articles, jointly edited three books and has written many book chapters.  Dr. Lentle was co-editor of A New Kind of Ray: the Radiological Sciences in Canada 1895 - 1995.

He is radiologist for the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos).  He has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Osteoporosis Society of Canada for 15 years chairing the "Diagnosis" committee in preparing the Canadian guidelines published in 2002. 

In 1998 Dr. Lentle was elected to the Board of Directors of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and in 2000 to the Executive of the International Society of Radiology.  He was President of RSNA in 2004 and now serves as Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the RSNA Research and Education Foundation.

William Leslie, MSc MD FRCPC, CCD

Dr. Leslie is Professor of Medicine and Radiology at the University of Manitoba. He obtained his specialty training from the University of Manitoba and McGill University, qualifying in Internal Medicine in 1989 and in Nuclear Medicine in 1990. He is clinically active in general medicine and nuclear medicine, and has research interests in osteoporosis testing and other nuclear diagnostic techniques including PET scanning.  He is Vice-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Council of Osteoporosis Canada, active with the Canadian Panel of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, Director of the Manitoba Bone Density Program, and Co-Director of the Winnipeg PET Imaging Centre.

Sergio Ragi-Eis, M.D., CCD, CDT

Dr. Ragi Eis received his medical degree from the Fundação Técnico Educacional Souza Marques in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He completed his medical residency on orthopedics in Rio de Janeiro and his specialization on Orthopedics at the Pontifical Catholic University also in Rio de Janeiro.
He was a founding member of the Brazilian Society of Clinical Densitometry, SBDens, and was elected its president in 1995. In 2000 he was a founding member of Latin American Society for Clinical Densitometry, SOLAD, and served as president from 2001-2003. In 1996 Dr. Ragi developed the Brazilian Site Accreditation Program for Densitometry Centers (PROQuaD), a program run by SBDens with now more than 400 accredited centers.

Dr. Ragi Eis is the medical director of the Osteoporosis Diagnosis and Research Center of Espírito Santo, since its founding in July 1990. As medical director of this center his practice has been dedicated to osteoporosis evaluation, consultation and clinical research. He has been acted as principal investigator of several clinical trials in the last 7 years. During the years 1999 through 2001, he participated as member of the Osteoporosis Task Force of the World Health Organization. He is active in several national and international societies. In 1996 Dr. Ragi Eis was a founding member of the International Relations Committee of the ISCD, on 1994 and is now its Vice-Chair. Since then he has served on several ISCD’s Scientific Advisory and Site Accreditation committees and is member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Densitometry. In May 2000, he was awarded as “Physician of the Year” during the ISCD 6th Annual Meeting, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and on November 2007, he received another award of acknowledgement for improving ISCD Recognition and Visibility in the Latin American Region.

His main clinical research interests are DXA applications for health sciences and osteoporosis treatments. In 1998 he published a book dedicated to the practical aspects of Bone Densitometry that was translated into Spanish. He has published papers in the field of osteoporosis as well as organized scientific national and international meetings and courses, including ISCD-Iberian American Panel programs. Dr. Ragi Eis was the first chair of the Iberian American Panel of ISCD and is currently member of the Iberian-American Bone and Mineral Society (SIBOMM), Brazilian Society for Bone and Mineral Research (SOBEMOM), Brazilian Society of Orthopedics (SBOT), American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR,) and the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Dr Ragi Eis is currently a member of the board and faculty for SBDens, Iberian American Panel of ISCD.

Christine Simonelli, MD, CCD

Dr. Simonelli is a graduate of the University of  New Mexico School of Medicine.  She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Minnesota hospitals. Her area of practice has been in Women’s Health and she provided services for the Health Center for Women in St. Paul, MN for fifteen years.  Since that time she developed an Osteoporosis Care Center for HealthEast and provides consultative care for the health care system of ten clinics and three hospitals.  Dr. Simonelli is board certified in internal medicine and has certification as a clinical densitometrist from the International Society of Clinical Densitometry and served on their Board of Directors from 2004-2007.  She was the task force chair for the Technical Issues addressed at the 2007 ISCD Position Development Conference.

An Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Simonelli provides education in the internal medicine residency program as a lecturer and mentor.   She is co-chair of the Minnesota Bone Club and Group Leader for the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement guideline on osteoporosis creating the standard of care for five major health systems in the Midwest. Dr. Simonelli is also an investigator for a number of osteoporosis research trials of various therapeutic agents as well as practice intervention and outcomes in the post-fracture patient.  Other research areas of interest include collaborative projects with the orthopedic service and novel use of densitometry following joint replacement of the hip or knee.

Sunil J. Wimalawansa MD, PhD, MBA, MRCPath, FRCP, DSc

Dr. Wimalawansa MD, PhD, MBA, CCD, MRCPath, FRCP, DSc is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition at the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Medical School, Director, Regional Osteoporosis Center, and Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology at the RWJ Graduate School. He is the current Chair of the New Jersey state inter-agency Council of Osteoporosis and has been a board member of Texas and NJ/NY Regional Osteoporosis Boards since 1999. He has recently authored a book titled Osteoporosis: Time to Act. He has earned several young investigator awards, Dr. Boy Frame Award for Clinical Excellence in Metabolic Bone Diseases, American Endocrine Society Glen Foundation Awards, and innovation award from the Asian Chamber of Commerce.

In 2005, Dr. Wimalawansa received a coveted Lifetime Achievement Award by an international NGO for his contributions to science, humanity, and society. The International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) recognized Dr. Wimalawansa’s humanitarian contributions by awarding him the 2007 Dr. Oscar Gluck Humanitarian award. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles, 40 reviews and book chapters, four books, 220 abstracts, and holds six medical patents. He is a regular reviewer for over 25 national and international scientific journals and serves on several editorial boards.

Dr. Wimalawansa is a clinical researcher with 32 years in academic medicine. He is highly experienced in DXA technology and has been using DXA continuously since 1982 (2nd DXA machine in UK). He holds committee positions in ISCD, AACE and ASBMR. He is a member of the following ISCD committees: Legislative Committee, Public Policy Steering Committee, Grants and Education Committee, and the ISCD Facility Accreditation Program.