The mid-term elections in the U.S. resulted in what many have called a political tsunami. But there was no such tidal wave of change for the 2026 edition of the Minnies, our annua
After two competitive rounds of voting by the Minnies Expert Panel on well over 100 nominees in 15 categories, persistent trends such as radiology workforce shortages, theranostics, and AI predominated once again this year.
Congratulations to all the winners of the 2026 Minnies awards, and also to the runners-up and the hundreds of candidates who made the semifinalist list and finalist list. Once again we’ve invited winners to say a few words about their award, and we hope you enjoy our article as well as the opportunity to hear directly from the participants.
Interested in the history of the Minnies? You can view our comprehensive list of all the Minnies winners over the past 25 years.
Most Influential Radiology Researcher
Minnies 2026 Winner: Perry Pickhardt, MD, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Now a three-time winner of the Most Influential Radiology Researcher Minnie, Perry Pickhardt, MD, of the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison, noted that this year's award arrives in a markedly different climate for opportunistic CT, his main focus area.
“I get several requests a day to review papers of other people now getting into this space,” said Pickhardt, who is chief of gastrointestinal imaging at UW-Madison. “So it’s a really hot topic.”
That uptake is in large part a function of AI. When Pickhardt first began extracting clinically actionable information from routine abdominal scans, he did much of the work manually. AI-powered pipelines can now extract body composition measurements from CT scans retrospectively and prospectively at scale.
“Now that we have these AI tools for large scalable retrospective studies and prospective use, it’s really taking off,” he said.
Perry Pickhardt, MD
Two opportunistic CT applications have already crossed into routine clinical use, Pickhardt said. Bone mineral density assessment from abdominal CT, including a femoral neck T-score equivalent to dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), has been in practice at his center for 10 to 15 years, and commercial AI products now make it accessible without a dedicated bone density scan.
“They don’t need a DEXA, for example, if it’s normal,” he said.
Coronary calcium scoring from routine non-contrast CT is following a similar path, with early CPT codes taking shape, he added.
Those, though, are just the beginning, according to Pickhardt. Composite risk models, algorithms that combine multiple CT-derived measurements to predict cardiovascular events, hip fractures, and risk of fibrosis and cirrhosis, for instance, are in development. Each model, when tested against the established clinical gold standard, has outperformed it.
“Every time we develop one of these models and compare it to the clinical gold standard, it generally beats it quite roundly. It’s amazing what’s embedded in a CT scan,” he said.
Another recent focus of his research has been cancer cachexia, the muscle and fat wasting associated with advanced malignancy. Early studies show that CT body composition measurements can detect early-stage wasting in some cancer patients before a diagnosis has been made, Pickhardt explained. In pancreatic cancer, that wasting may already be under way at the time of diagnosis, he noted.
“CT can actually uncover some of these things even before the cancer is diagnosed,” he said.
Underpinning much of the research is a structural advantage CT carries that no other modality can replicate: namely, decades of clinical archive with built-in longitudinal follow-up, Pickhardt noted. AI tools can apply consistent measurements retroactively to that archive, eliminating the need to wait years for prospective outcome data.
“We go back 10, even 20 years in time,” he said. “We can apply these measures to any scan done in the last 25 years.”
The vehicle for scaling these findings across diverse populations is the Opportunistic Screening Consortium in Abdominal Radiology (OSCAR), through which Pickhardt’s group shares its AI pipeline with partner institutions. The consortium now spans every inhabited continent, he noted.
“We have it in place at [Mass General Brigham], at Mayo, at Northwestern, but also in every continent outside of Antarctica,” Pickhardt said.
The consortium, which now includes chest CT alongside abdominal imaging, is approaching a combined cohort of more than one million patients. The overarching goal, Pickhardt explained, is to verify that body composition biomarkers perform consistently across all populations.
“We can make sure that these things don’t just work on our Midwestern predominantly white population, but that these biomarkers seem universal,” he said. “We still have to prove that.”
Runner up: Thomas Hope, MD, University of California, San Francisco
Most Effective Radiology Educator
Minnies 2026 Winner: Amy Patel, MD, University of Kansas Health System
Amy Patel, MD, is well known in the breast imaging field. A national leader in her field, Patel has balanced her clinical work with advocacy for radiologists, a term she and others label “radvocacy.” She was also named the Kansas City Chiefs NFL Fan of the Year in 2022.
But now she can add a new achievement to her resume: Minnies winner. Having previously been a finalist, Patel has now received her first Minnie for her work in education.
“The Minnies really exemplify the best and brightest of medical imaging, and that’s why I’m just so floored by this,” Patel said. “It really does highlight the best that radiology has.”
Amy Patel, MD
In January, Patel took on new roles as a breast radiologist and associate professor at the University of Kansas Health System and the university’s school of medicine. She said this experience has allowed her to promote advocacy among radiologists and students, something she calls “radvocacy.”
“One of the biggest reasons why I got into breast imaging was not just the clinical side and making an impact, but the implications toward the impact that can be made when it comes to advocacy work,” she said. “I look at it from a lens that it’s great we’re providing this wonderful care for patients in the field of breast imaging, but what good is it to have all these recommendations for different breast imaging studies and procedures if patients can’t afford it or don’t have access to it?”
As an educator, Patel recognizes the need to effectively attract, train, and retain the next generation of breast imagers as the field faces the same workforce-related challenges of other imaging specialties. She has written opinion pieces published in scientific journals highlighting the importance of young radiologists emerging in the field.
“It’s showing them the excitement at the workstation, showing them how amazing it is to do different interventional procedures,” Patel said. “But there’s so much you can learn outside of these clinical walls.”
Runner-up: Emanuel Kanal, MD, University of Pittsburgh
Most Effective Radiologic Sciences Educator
Minnies 2026 Winner: Holly Bonfig-Becker, Ed.D, RT(R)(M), University of Iowa
Holly Bonfig-Becker's journey to her current role as Director of Radiation Sciences Degrees and Radiologic Technology Education at University of Iowa Health Care began with an experience she described as not uncommon for professionals in the field. She underwent imaging as a child.
"I broke some fingers on one of my hands. I had a fluoro exam. I've been in an MRI machine, and it just piqued my interest. So when I came to the University of Iowa as a student, I kind of explored all the different opportunities in medical imaging," said Bonfig-Becker, an associate professor of instruction in radiation sciences. "And as soon as I job shadowed in x-ray, I knew that's what I wanted to do."
Holly Bonfig-Becker, Ed.D, RT(R)(M)
What's not common in the field is that since she began her current role in 2022, she has nearly doubled the size of the university’s radiologic technology program, from 48 students across three cohorts to 90.
The expansion was deliberate and incremental, Bonfig-Becker said, driven by record application numbers and what she described as a desperate technologist shortage across healthcare. The University of Iowa Health Care system gave her substantial room to work with, she noted: a level one trauma center, a dedicated pediatric hospital, a 900-plus-bed main medical campus, and a newly built orthopedic and sports medicine center that opened additional rotation sites.
She created new offsite rotations to support the larger cohorts, including a community volunteering component that let students choose their own placement and a set of modality observations designed to broaden their exposure before entering the workforce. Cohort size climbed in stages, from 16 to 20, then 27, and then to 30 per cohort, as each element was incorporated, she noted.
“It took a lot of reworking and incorporating things that maybe we weren’t utilizing before, but are important, in my opinion, for a well-rounded healthcare professional,” she said.
After graduating from the x-ray program in 2005, Bonfig-Becker spent roughly eight years in clinical practice and cross-trained in mammography and breast ultrasound along the way, she noted. She quickly recognized that what she most looked forward to each day was working with students, and when an opportunity in education arose, she took it. She has spent her entire career at the University of Iowa, moving from staff technologist to educator to program director before assuming her current role overseeing all of radiation sciences in 2025.
“I love coming into work every day,” she said. “I have just an unmatched team who is so fun to be around. We have the best students. They’re eager to learn, they love radiology.”
Looking ahead, she is focused on two priorities. The first is developing a master’s degree program designed for working professionals to complete on their own schedule. The second is a continuation of research she began during her doctorate at Creighton University, centered on improving the student clinical experience, the hands-on component she sees as central to building lasting commitment to the profession.
“I think what really motivates them going out into the workforce to be the best healthcare professional is they love that hands-on learning and that experience they have in the clinic,” Bonfig-Becker said.
Runner up: Kori Stewart, PhD, RT(R)(CT), Quinnipiac University
Most Effective Radiology Administrator/Manager
2026 Minnies winner: Jason Theadore, AdventHealth
Jason Theadore may be celebrating his first Minnies award, but if you ask him, this win was a total team effort.
Theadore said he was excited to be named a finalist and then a winner, and described the honor as valuable national recognition for team members across the radiology industry. However, he emphasized that the credit belongs to AdventHealth’s radiology practice and imaging centers.
“I think it’s amazing to be recognized from that large group of people within the radiology industry," he said. "It’s a great national recognition for team members.”
Jason Theadore
Theadore began his career as an x-ray technologist. In his career, he has held executive roles mostly in service lines and ambulatory care, and has been involved in radiology for more than 30 years. He said he has carried radiology responsibility in every organization he has served, including his current one.
Asked how practice and healthcare management have changed over the past decade, Theadore said change is happening at an aggressive pace and that radiology often leads it, both in strategy for caring for patients and in day-to-day operations. Organizations must keep up with that pace, he added.
Theadore said one thing he has done well throughout his career is hire well and build strong, high-performing teams. He noted that radiology spends a great deal of time discussing the high cost of equipment, which he called a fair point, but argued that the field should put the same time, energy, and focus into developing team members. He said he starts there on a regular basis.
Theadore said AdventHealth’s radiology practice and imaging centers have gone through a cultural transformation over the past couple of years. With shortages of radiologists, technologists, and nurses across the industry, the team has focused on engagement, aiming to be a place where radiology professionals want to work and where patients receive whole-person care.
“If we don’t have the foundational culture, the change will never work, so we like to start there," Theadore said.
Runner-up: Josh Lee, RT(R) (MR), University of Mississippi Medical Center
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