Ritu Gill Named Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging

Ritu Gill, MBBS, MPH, FACR, has been named chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging for the Department of Radiology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). Gill’s appointment strengthens the Department of Radiology’s long-held commitment to excellence in cardiothoracic imaging, in support of Columbia’s renowned heart and lung programs.

Gill is a board-certified radiologist specializing in cardiothoracic radiology. She is currently an associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a thoracic radiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BDMIC). She will begin her role as chief of cardiothoracic imaging at Columbia on February 1, 2025.

A renowned physician-scientist and board-certified radiologist, Gill is recognized as one of the top pleural tumor experts in the world. Her pioneering work on the staging and evaluation of pleural mesothelioma has led to the recent international adoption of size criteria for the ninth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM staging system. Gill has served on the eighth and ninth editions of the AJCC TNM staging systems for lung cancer, thymic malignancies, and pleural mesothelioma and currently serves as chair of the Tumor (T) Subcommittee of the Mesothelioma Domain and member of the Mesothelioma Domain Steering Committee in the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Staging and Prognostic Factors Group (SPFG) for the tenth edition of the staging systems for lung cancer, thymic malignancies, and pleural mesothelioma.

“Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian have a long-standing reputation for providing world-class care in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart and lung diseases,” said Ajay Gupta, MD, MS, professor of radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). “We are fortunate to recruit Dr. Gill to VP&S as she is an exceptional clinician, researcher, and educator. Her arrival at Columbia will  be of tremendous benefit to our patients and will rapidly advance our research and educational initiatives in cardiothoracic imaging.”

The author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, Gill lends her expertise as a frequently invited speaker and panelist at national and international conferences. She holds leadership positions on multiple committees at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR), including the Lung Cancer Screening Committee, the High-Resolution CT Committee (ACR), and the CT Volumetry Committee (RSNA).

Gill is also an accomplished educator and recipient of numerous teaching awards. She currently serves as Director of the Radiology Clerkship at BIDMC, Harvard Medical School. She is also a section editor for the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR)-ACR Radiology Exam for Chest and Interventional Radiology.

Gill earned her medical degree from the Government Medical College in Amritsar, India, followed by residency training at Madras Medical College in Chennai, India. She completed fellowship training in onco-radiology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and in Cardiothoracic Radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She holds a master’s in public health (clinical effectiveness) from the Harvard School of Public Health.

At Columbia, Gill will lead a talented group of cardiothoracic and cardiac radiologists during an exciting period of growth for the Department of Radiology, to provide the highest quality diagnostic imaging services to patients at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian.