Robert Ryu named chair of Department of Radiology

Robert Ryu, MD, has been recruited to serve as the chair of the Department of Radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, effective May 1.

Ryu is coming from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he’s the Dr. David A. Kumpe Chair and Division Chief of Interventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology.

“I very much appreciate, and am humbled by, Dean Mosqueda’s faith in my abilities to lead the Department of Radiology,” Ryu said in a statement. “My wife Kirsten and I are delighted to rejoin the Trojan family. Although the opportunities to expand and enhance patient-centered imaging are very exciting, I’m even more energized by the prospect of working collaboratively and productively with the exceptional clinicians, scientists, administrators, and leaders I’ve met.”

Ryu grew up in Carmel, California. He received at BA in biology at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and his MD from Case Western Reserve University Medical School in Cleveland. He and Kirsten Lock-Ryu met during his radiology residency at LAC+USC Medical Center. The couple have two children: Gemma, a sophomore at Brown University, and Holden, a high school senior at Colorado Academy in Denver.

After leaving Los Angeles, Ryu completed his fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the University of Colorado. He started his academic career at CU but was quickly recruited to Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he became a professor in 2011. He also was heavily involved in resident education and was named the school’s Department of Radiology Teacher of the Year in 2013. In 2014 he was recruited back to the CU med school in Aurora. In addition to leading Interventional Radiology, since 2017 he has served as the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Radiology.

Ryu oversaw a considerable expansion of clinical operations at CU. He’s been a proponent of adopting new educational tools and technology, and has been particularly interested in promoting diversity and inclusion in the field of radiology.

Ryu also is a prolific clinical scientist, with more than 125 original, peer-reviewed manuscripts, as well as several book chapters, abstracts and educational exhibits. The majority of his work has focused on interventional oncology, including several translational projects that later contributed to NIH-funded studies by junior faculty colleagues.

Ryu succeeds Edward Grant, MD, as chair of Radiology at KSOM. Grant had served in that position since 2002. He’ll remain in the department and “will continue performing his expert clinical practice in ultrasound radiology,” said Judy Garner, PhD, Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs. “We are indebted for his leadership of the complex services provided by the Department for nearly 20 years, his continued commitment to his faculty, and his stewardship.”