Meet the Chair: A Conversation with Ajay Gupta

Ajay Gupta, MD, MS, became chair of the Department of Radiology at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons on February 1, 2024. He also serves as radiologist-in-chief for NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital's Columbia campus. We spoke with him about his first months at Columbia and what it is like to lead a radiology department in a time of rapid technological change.

What attracted you to this opportunity to lead the Department of Radiology at Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian?

I was excited to have the opportunity to work with exceptional individuals at an institution that is deeply committed to collaboration, innovation, and delivering outstanding patient care. Columbia/NYP is both a globally recognized center for excellence in academic medicine as well as the place where those who live in Washington Heights and surrounding neighborhoods come for their everyday care. Getting to serve a diverse and vibrant local community as well as patients from around the world – that’s a unique and rewarding aspect of working at Columbia.

I spent the first 18 years of my career—including my radiology residency and neuroradiology fellowship—at NYP’s Weill Cornell campus. I’m very fortunate to have an opportunity to remain part of this world-class health system while being able to broaden and deepen my leadership responsibilities and learn so much from my terrific colleagues at the Columbia campus of the NYP health system.

How have you spent your first eight months and what have you learned?

In my first few months, I focused on connecting with everyone in the department. I’ve met one-on-one and in group settings with faculty and trainees to gain a deeper understanding of what makes this department the special place that it is. My primary goal has been to learn from those who know this place best – and trying to understand from their perspective what’s working well, where we can improve, and how we can prioritize our efforts to best serve our patients.

The time I’ve spent with our faculty has helped me appreciate that our faculty’s diversity of expertise is one of our greatest strengths. Each member of our faculty brings unique skills and perspectives to the table, whether it's excellence in clinical care, research, or education. When we recognize and leverage these diverse talents, we’re in a stronger position to advance patient care, push the boundaries of medical imaging, and train the next generation of radiologists in ways that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

One of your early priorities has been building the department’s research enterprise. How do you view the research mission of the department and what are your areas of focus?

I see tremendous untapped potential in our department, and I look forward to rapid growth in our research activity. To achieve this, we need to significantly expand our team of imaging scientists and physician-scientists. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to grow our imaging sciences program at a place like Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, which has such a distinguished history of groundbreaking biomedical research. The world-class disciplines represented more broadly at Columbia University—such as engineering, data science, and computer science—are essential drivers of innovation in medical imaging. The opportunities to build multidisciplinary research teams based at our New York City campuses are unmatched.

Our key research priorities are centered around areas where we can make the biggest possible impact by leveraging our unique strengths as an institution. I think that in the coming years many of our research questions will be focused on understanding the ways in which new computational and analytic approaches–including artificial intelligence–can augment the expertise of radiologists for the benefit of our patients. Another critical priority is translating emerging technologies—such as advanced MRI sequences, new scanners, and interventional devices—into clinical practice. With a wave of new innovations on the horizon, it’s essential that we rigorously evaluate which technologies will most effectively enhance patient outcomes.

How is artificial intelligence going to change the field of medical imaging and the care that our patients receive?

Artificial intelligence is poised to transform the way we care for our patients. One of the biggest ways AI will improve patient care is by making imaging more efficient. For example, AI is already helping us shorten MRI scan times without sacrificing quality. Instead of being in an MRI scanner for 30 minutes, imagine completing a study in just 10 minutes. A faster study is almost always more comfortable and less stressful for our patients.

AI is also helping our radiologists extract much more detailed information from medical images. While the human eye can only detect so much, AI can identify patterns and subtle details that might be missed, allowing for more accurate and precise diagnoses. But its potential goes beyond just imaging. AI will help us integrate imaging data with other types of patient data from electronic health records, such as lab results, medical histories, and genomic information. This integration can create a more comprehensive picture of a patient's health, enabling us to not only diagnose diseases earlier but also prevent them by identifying risk factors before they manifest. By combining imaging insights with other health data, AI has the potential to help ensure that patients receive the most personalized care possible. At Columbia we look forward to being a leader in this type of research and translating those innovations into state-of-the-art clinical care for our patients.

Where do you see the Department of Radiology in five years?

I’m very optimistic about the future here at Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian. The investments we’re making now will position us to lead not just in the greater New York City region, but across the country. One key focus is expanding our outpatient imaging services. Within the next couple of years, we expect to more than double our outpatient capacity. Whether it's diagnostic or interventional radiology, we aim to become the go-to destination for patients seeking compassionate, high-quality, and convenient imaging care, both at our main campus and through our rapidly growing outpatient network.

Equally important, I’m committed to making Columbia Radiology an outstanding place to work for everyone—faculty, staff, and trainees. I want our team to feel a strong sense of purpose in the vital work they do, whether it’s patient care, advancing science, or training future leaders in our field.  At a place like Columbia and NYP, we’re so fortunate to count as colleagues incredibly talented people, and we have access to unparalleled resources–all here in the world’s greatest city. I feel strongly that this makes it our obligation to pursue excellence in all the missions of academic medicine, not only for those local communities we are entrusted to serve, but for the improvement of human health across the world.