August 04, 2004
Michael Grey appointed to prestigious committee
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Michael L. Grey, an associate professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Radiologic Sciences program, is now serving on the education committee of an international society of magnetic resonance technologists.
Grey is a member of the Magnetic Resonance Technologists education committee of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Founded in 1994 in Berkeley, Calif., the organization promotes communication, research, development, application and the availability of information on magnetic resonance in medicine, biology and related fields. Grey joins international education professionals and technologists on the committee.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is continuing to evolve, Grey said of the 20- to 30-year-old field. MRI involves physics, computerization and technology in looking at anatomy and studying pathology. He noted that when MRI was introduced, "We initially began by looking at the brain and the spinal cord. We are literally forging, if you will, a new method of looking inside the body. Now we're imaging joints and the cardiovascular system."
Grey wants the committee to continue developing educational guidelines for teaching MRI. The field is growing rapidly, he said, noting that imaging the vascular system and heart and blood vessels is "the hot item right now." Those tests were not available five years ago.
"In medical imaging, technology is changing rapidly so with that comes the need to keep on our toes in advancing the curriculum we want to be teaching," he said.
At SIUC, the Radiologic Sciences program is within the Department of Health Professions in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Grey said he is in charge of one of a very few, formally approved and recognized MRI education programs in the world. The program combines classroom education and internships at medical research teaching facilities throughout the United States, including the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and hospitals in St. Louis, Chicago, Springfield and Nashville, Tenn. Students also gain experience at regional hospitals, such as Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
SIUC began offering a bachelor's degree in the program 1997. After completing core curriculum in the first year, a student's second and third years in the program include diagnostic x-ray, where they learn to x-ray the skeletal system and various organ systems. As seniors, students can choose from three program options, one of which includes magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography, or CT.
"SIUC is leading the way in educating our students to provide these services to our community," said Grey.
Grey is under contract with McGraw-Hill publishers for his second book, "Imaging in Rehabilitation," a classroom and clinical textbook he is co-authoring with University of Kentucky faculty members. In 2003, he co-wrote a book, "CT and MRI Pathology; a Pocket Atlas," with Jagan M. Ailinani, a radiologist at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.
"We are extremely proud of Professor Grey's membership on the education committee of this prestigious international society and his growing prominence among his professional peers," said Paul D. Sarvela, dean of SIUC's College of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Grey and his wife, Rebecca, live in rural Carbondale with their three daughters.