John R. Zech, MD, MA, Joins Columbia Radiology

Welcome to John R. Zech, MD, MA, who joined Columbia Radiology this month as an assistant professor of radiology.

Dr. Zech returns to Columbia Radiology after completing his Diagnostic Radiology Residency in the department in 2023. He is a subspecialty trained musculoskeletal radiologist with expertise in the application of artificial intelligence to radiology. 

Dr. Zech has expertise in the interpretation of a wide range of musculoskeletal imaging, including sports injury, arthritis, spinal disorders, and soft tissue and bone tumors. He is experienced in many aspects of musculoskeletal intervention, including ultrasound-guided joint, tendon, and trigger point injections, joint and cyst aspirations, and biopsies.

His research on the application of artificial intelligence to radiology has been featured in journals including Radiology, Nature: Medicine, and PLOS Medicine, and has been cited over 2,500 times by other researchers. He serves on the editorial board of Radiology: Artificial Intelligence. 

Dr. Zech completed his undergraduate degree at Harvard College and went on to obtain a master's degree in statistics at Columbia University. He obtained his medical degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he graduated with Distinction in Research. He completed a preliminary medicine internship at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco before continuing his residency training at CUIMC/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, after which he completed a musculoskeletal imaging fellowship at NYU Langone Health. We are excited to welcome him back to Columbia Radiology.