Diego Jaramillo, MD, MPH, Appointed Interim Chair of the Department of Radiology
Diego Jaramillo, MD, MPH, professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and director of MRI at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Radiology at Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Jaramillo is a world-renowned pediatric radiologist, internationally recognized for his research on bone growth. He joined the faculty in 2018 and was appointed vice chair of diversity in 2020.
Jaramillo has devoted his career as an investigator to the study of growth disorders, pioneering the use of an MRI technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to probe the structure and function of the growth plate. He is the recipient of three National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, including a 2021 R01 grant for his project, “Understanding Skeletal Growth Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging of the Physis and Metaphysis." In 2022, he received the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research, a prestigious honor that recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the field of medical imaging.
Further, Jaramillo has distinguished himself as a leader and beloved mentor within the Department of Radiology. He has guided research-oriented residents on multiple projects and has dedicated himself to addressing diversity issues both within the department and throughout the medical center. As vice chair of diversity, he led faculty recruitment for the department during a year of expansion and organized multiple departmental initiatives to increase awareness of issues around diversity.
Beyond Columbia, Jaramillo has held several leadership positions, including 11 years as radiologist-in-chief at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He has also served as associate chair of the Department of Radiology at Stanford University and division chief of pediatric radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition, he has served as the president and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) and is a fellow of the American College of Radiology (ACR).
