James Spies, MD, MPH, and chair of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Department of Radiology, has been chosen to receive the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 2019 Gold Medal, the Society’s highest honor. The Gold Medal is awarded to individuals who, through outstanding achievement, advance the quality of patient care while also ensuring the future of interventional radiology.

Dr. Spies joined MedStar Georgetown in 1997 after working in private practice and serving four years in the United States Air Force. His practice and research in Uterine Embolization for fibroids has received acclaim internationally, where he is recognized as an authority on the procedure. Spies has published over 100 scientific studies and delivered more than 400 invited presentations on the topic which he continues to study at Georgetown, along with several other areas of interventional radiology.

“The Society of Interventional Radiology has been my professional home for 30 years and I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to help advance the patient care our specialty provides,” Spies said. “I am truly honored to receive this award and, when I reflect on its past recipients, am humbled to be counted among them.”

Before receiving the Gold Medal, Dr. Spies has sat on many SIR committees, serving as chair of the SIR Foundation from 2006 to 2008 and SIR President from 2014 to 2015. According to SIR, only 60 individuals have ever been honored with a Gold Medal. The award will be presented during the SIR 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting in Austin, Texas, which runs March 23^rd through 28^th.

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