By Marty Trieschmann
June 11, 2024 | Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, M.D., director of the Breast Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, has received the prestigious designation of Fellow of the American College of Radiology (FACR).
ACR awards fellowships to only 15% of its 40,000 members for exceptional service to the organization and to the field of radiology through scientific or clinical research and teaching. ACR members are diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, medical physicists and nuclear medicine physicians.
“Dr. Bryant-Smith has made far-reaching contributions to the field of radiology in advancing research and clinical trials that have made very real improvements in the care of breast cancer patients,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. “She is a champion for better access to breast screening for women in rural, underserved areas of Arkansas to help improve cancer disparities and health outcomes. She is a tremendous asset to our cancer center and is so deserving of this honor.”
Bryant-Smith was recognized at a ceremony during the ACR Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in April. She is one of seven members nominated to run for the 2024 ACR Nominating Committee, and one of only three elected. She was recently elected vice chair of the ACR College Nominating Committee.
As a board-certified diagnostic radiologist and a fellowship-trained breast imaging radiologist, Bryant-Smith specializes in imaging procedures that detect and diagnose breast cancer. She is division director of Breast Imaging and director of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Breast Center and Mobile Mammography Program. She is past director of the Breast Imaging Fellowship program. She also serves as associate director of Health Equity and Workforce Development in the Cancer Institute.
She has served as chair of the National Veterans Affairs Mammography Advisory Committee and a subject matter expert on the Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center Biopsy Instruments and Needles Committee with Mayo Clinic. She is a clinical image reviewer for the Arkansas Mammography Accreditation Program, a member of the UAMS Radiology Residency Program Evaluation Committee and past president of the Arkansas Radiological Society.
In 2017, she testified before the Arkansas General Assembly, which resulted in a successful effort for insurance coverage for digital breast tomosynthesis (3D mammography) and whole breast ultrasound.
In 2022, Bryant-Smith was honored as the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary Distinguished Honoree. She is a graduate of the UAMS College of Medicine.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.
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