We have seen the future of radiology and it looks good-very good

When we at Diagnostic Imaging chart trends in radiology, we tend to call on luminaries and thought leaders. But much can be gained from investigating the other end of the spectrum: radiologists just starting out in their careers.

We've recently launched a column on our Web site called "Young Researchers Spotlight" (www.dimag.com/spotlight/). This special section showcases the voices of potential future luminaries. Each of the young scientists we interviewed has been honored by the RSNA for outstanding research. They not only deserve to be heard, they must be heard.

These medical students, residents, and fellows have teamed up with some of the brightest people in radiology, and we explore those relationships along with the research they produce.

For example, Chee Liang Hoe joined forces with Duke University's Dr. Donald Frush, a preeminent pediatric radiologist whose research has focused on radiation dose. Hoe won a 2004 RSNA Resident Research Trainee Prize for a program that simulates rare and subtle liver lesions.

Dr. Khan M. Siddiqui, a former fellow at VA Maryland Health Care System in Baltimore, worked under the direction of Dr. Eliot Siegel, a prominent informatics thought leader. Siddiqui won a 2004 RSNA Fellow Research Trainee Prize for designing an image quality program that is closely associated with human perception.

We owe it to you, our readers, to look continually for the bright minds that will fuel the next generation of radiologist researchers. We're doing just that. And by all accounts, the future of radiology is in good hands.

C.P. Kaiser is news editor of Diagnostic Imaging.