Two UAMS College of Medicine faculty whose longstanding careers have shaped generations of physicians were honored at Dean’s Honor Day on April 21, 2026. Distinguished Faculty Service Awards were presented to Teresita Angtuaco, M.D., Professor of Radiology, and Joan Cranmer, Ph.D., Professor of Pediatrics.
Teresita Angtuaco, M.D.: A Legacy in Women’s Imaging and Radiology Education
A member of the UAMS faculty since 1980, Dr. Angtuaco has spent 45 years advancing radiology, women’s imaging, and medical education in Arkansas and beyond.
A nationally and internationally recognized pioneer in women’s imaging, Dr. Angtuaco led the Division of Ultrasound for more than four decades and served as Division Chief of Body Imaging from 2011 to 2025. Her influence extends throughout nearly every major radiology organization in the country.
Dr. Angtuaco has served on numerous committees for the American College of Radiology and served as an American Board of Radiology examiner for 11 consecutive years. Within the Radiological Society of North America — the world’s largest radiology organization — she served on 13 committees between 1990 and 2016, ultimately chairing the Fund Development Committee for the Research and Education Fund. She also served on the Board of Directors and as president of the Association for Women Radiologists.
Dr. Angtuaco’s peers have elected her to fellowship status in multiple prestigious organizations, including the American College of Radiology, the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the American Association for Women Radiologists, where she was named the organization’s inaugural fellow.
In his nomination letter, Sanjaya Viswamitra. M.D., Chair of the Department of Radiology, emphasized the national reach of her expertise and reputation.
“Even today, we receive inquiries from across the country seeking Dr. Angtuaco’s expertise,” he wrote, citing her 75 peer-reviewed publications, 23 award-winning scientific exhibits and nationally recognized expertise in obstetric imaging.
“Her impact, however, may be felt most strongly in Arkansas through her decades of work training sonographers and strengthening maternal and fetal imaging across the state.”
The UAMS Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program estimates that Dr. Angtuaco has helped train more than 500 ultrasound technologists during her career.
Ulrike Hamper, M.D., Professor of Radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, praised Dr. Angtuaco’s integrity and teaching ability in a letter supporting her nomination.
“Dr. Angtuaco has always demonstrated the highest intellectual integrity in addressing professional and academic issues,” Hamper wrote. “She is an outstanding teacher with a remarkable knack for synthesizing complicated information.”
Throughout her career, Dr. Angtuaco also has mentored countless residents, fellows, and trainees while helping to secure more than $550,000 in grant funding for Arkansas educational programs and directing numerous educational courses and lectures throughout the state.
Joan Cranmer, Ph.D.: Transforming Faculty Mentorship and Academic Medicine
For 50 years, Dr. Cranmer has combined internationally respected scientific achievement with transformative leadership in faculty mentoring and professional development at UAMS.
Dr. Cranmer joined UAMS in 1976 and the Department of Pediatrics in 1984 after earning her doctorate in anatomy and pharmacology from the University of Minnesota. She served on the faculties of the University of Minnesota and the University of Virginia.
An internationally recognized neurotoxicologist, Dr. Cranmer built a distinguished research career studying the effects of chemicals and environmental exposures on neurodevelopment, organ systems and long-term health outcomes. During her career, she secured more than $4 million in approved grants, authored more than 90 publications, and delivered invited presentations at conferences around the world, including Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Russia, India, and Australia.
Her expertise led to appointments on advisory boards, study sections, and expert panels for organizations including the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Protection Agency, National Academy of Sciences, World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Cranmer also founded the journal Neurotoxicology: An International Journal in 1979 and served as editor-in-chief for 38 years, helping shape the field internationally.
At UAMS, her most lasting influence may be the mentoring framework she created within the Department of Pediatrics more than 30 years ago.
The faculty mentoring and promotion model she developed has produced nearly a 100% promotion rate within the department and has since been adopted or adapted by academic medical centers across the country, including institutions in Texas, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, Oklahoma, Missouri, New York, and even the American University of Beirut.
William Steinbach, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, praised Cranmer’s extraordinary impact in his nomination letter.
“This mentoring program is recognized throughout the country,” Steinbach wrote, “and is now in place in other academic centers to aid junior faculty in successful matriculation through their academic ranks.”
He added that Cranmer “set the bar for how mentoring in academic medicine can and should be done to support junior faculty and develop a ‘pay it forward’ culture.”
Dr. Cranmer’s mentorship legacy continues across UAMS through the Women’s Faculty Development Caucus, which she helped establish to support and mentor women faculty across all five UAMS colleges. The Department of Pediatrics also honors her impact annually through the Joan Cranmer Mentor of the Year Award.
Drs. Angtuaco and Cranmer exemplify the highest ideals of academic medicine through careers defined by scholarship, mentorship, leadership, and service.