Roger Shannon, MD *

Roger Hall Shannon, MD, FACR, FACMI died peacefully at his winter home in Belgrade, Maine, on December 5, 2008 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Roger was born in New York City and spent his early years in Cranford and Summit New Jersey. He earned his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth and his MD from the George Washington University Medical School where he also completed his internship and residency. Upon completing his service in the U.S. Air Force, he founded Radiology Associates of Spokane, Washington, which he led until 1988. During this period he was also Clinical Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle. In 1988 he joined the faculty of the George Washington University Medical School and was appointed Chief of the Radiology Service for the DC Veterans Administration Medical Center in Washington, D.C. From 1990 to 1996 he was Director of Radiology for the 186-hospital VA system. He was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the Smith-Reed-Russell Medical Honor Society, a fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR), a founding member of the Society for Computer Medicine, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Cosmos Club of Washington. Roger developed a deep interest in the emerging field of medical informatics during the 1960's and sought to develop and apply techniques to reduce the complexity of medical data to improve practice and patient outcomes. Aside from publishing many professional articles, he was most proud of laying the groundwork at the VA for telemedicine. Roger and his wife Maggie retired to Belgrade, Maine where they had numerous personal and family connections. He continued to be involved with medicine by serving on the Boards of Maine HealthReach, a statewide network of community health centers, and the Belgrade Health Center. He also maintained interests in ecology and art, working to preserve the land, water quality and natural heritage of the watershed he lived in and loved.