This month marks the beginning of a new partnership for the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences and the Department of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine that will lead to improved collaboration that will advance medical imaging and improve patient care, particularly in cardiovascular care.
The partnership comes as a result of the recent appointment of Rohan Dharmakumar, Ph.D. (pictured center) as vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
Dharmakumar, an expert in cardiovascular imaging research, has held the role of executive director of the Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center in the IU School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine since 2021. His leadership has been transformational for cardiovascular research at the school. Since Dharmakumar was appointed, IU Krannert investigators have been awarded $85.5 million in NIH grant funding and published over 407 peer-reviewed scientific articles, with 80 publications in journals with an impact factor greater than 10. IU Krannert has also expanded from two investigators in 2021 to 32 investigators in 2024.
Dharmakumar transitioned to his new role as vice chair of research on November 1. Nearly 20 faculty members, staff, and researchers will join Dharmakumar in the department. By working together, the departments are poised to make groundbreaking discoveries that will be directly translated to patient care. “Dharmakumar has been an outstanding leader within the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Department of Medicine. As a world-class expert in cardiac imaging research, it is exciting to see this next chapter begin in his career. In his new role as vice chair for research, Dharmakumar can help establish new research collaborations across medicine and radiology to address challenges to human health beyond cardiovascular diseases,” noted David Aronoff, M.D., FIDSA, FAAM, FRCP (pictured right), chair of the Department of Medicine.
In his new role, Dharmakumar will oversee all of the department's research initiatives, fostering innovation and collaboration among faculty and staff. He brings with him an exciting new vision for medical imaging research that aims to re-invigorate, initiate and establish collaboration and integration with departments and centers across the IU School of Medicine. A central goal will be to develop imaging-guided interventions that are driven by the knowledge of disease mechanisms derived using cellular and pre-clinical models. “I am truly honored and excited to take on the position as the vice chair of research in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences,” Dharmakumar said. “I look forward to helping strengthen imaging research at IU School of Medicine, so that it cuts across all areas of research to advance patient care.”
“Given his research expertise and leadership experience, we are excited to have Dr. Dharmakumar join our department,” said Jason Allen, MD, PhD, FACR (pictured left) chair of the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences. “We look forward to working with him to build upon our research strengths in neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular imaging and nuclear medicine, as well as to expand our program through grant funding and industry partnerships. I am particularly excited about the possibilities of expanding research collaborations with the Department of Medicine through Dharmakumar’s leadership and am thankful to Aronoff for his support of Dharmakumar’s transition to my department.”
This new partnership between the departments of radiology and medicine is a testament to the power of collaboration in advancing healthcare.
Find out more about the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at IU School of Medicine here.
