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Roderic I. Pettigrew

Morehouse Alumnus Named Director of
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Atlanta, May 8, 2002- The National Institutes of Health, today, announced Morehouse College alumnus Roderic I. Pettigrew, M.D., Ph.D. as the first director of the NIH's National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). Dr. Pettigrew is currently professor of Radiology, Medicine (cardiology) and Bioengineering and Director of the Emory Center for MR Research at Emory University School of Medicine.

"We cannot be more proud of Rod," said Morehouse president Dr. Walter Massey. "He is exemplary of the high caliber of Morehouse alumni who are leaders in all walks of life."

Dr. Pettigrew will oversee the institute's federally mandated budget for basic and applied research and training.

NIBIB's mission is to improve health by supporting fundamental research in bioengineering and bio-imaging science and transferring the results to medical applications. It also coordinates ongoing efforts of NIH centers and institutes and exchanges information with other federal agencies. It is the only institute at NIH dedicated to biomedical technologies.

"I am honored and privileged to be joining the NIH at this important moment when the opportunity to develop new technologies in medicine has never been greater," said Dr. Pettigrew. "To combat disease more effectively, the hope is to develop new and emerging technologies that can detect the disease process at its earliest stage, when therapies are most efficacious. I and the NIBIB staff look forward to working with the other NIH institutes and centers, the research community and the public to achieve this vision."

Dr. Pettigrew's appointment culminates a seven-month search conducted by a panel of some of the nations leading scientist, educators, and administrators. He has been listed annually in "Best Doctors in America" since the list was first compiled in 1994 by an independent agency which surveys the world's leading medical centers and physicians to compile the list.

Dr. Pettigrew, who graduated cum laude from Morehouse College in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, is known for his pioneering work at Emory University involving dynamic three-dimensional imaging of the heart using magnetic resonance imaging(MRI). He also was co-developer of the first computer software package specifically designed for cardiac imaging using MRI.

Dr. Pettigrew is expected to begin his appointment in late August or early September 2002.

Ranked the number one college in the nation for educating African American students by Black Enterprise magazine, Morehouse College is the nation's largest liberal arts college for men. Founded in 1867, the College enrolls approximately 3,000 students and confers bachelor's degrees on more black men than any other institution in the world. Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize laureate and civil rights leader; Dr. David Satcher, Former U.S. Surgeon General; Sheldon "Spike" Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Maynard H. Jackson, president of Jackson Securities and the first African-American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from an historically black college or university.

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