Hedvig Hricak, MD, DrMedSci, is an emeritus member of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and a leading figure in the field of radiology. She served as Chair of the Department of Radiology from 1999 to early 2023. She also served, until her retirement in August 2025, as the Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair of Radiology, and was a member of the Molecular Pharmacology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, and Professor, Gerstner Sloan Kettering Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Hricak was an NIH-funded investigator from the 1980s through the end of her tenure at MSK. Her research focused primarily on the evidence-based use of imaging in genitourinary cancer management. She is best known for helping to develop and optimize applications of MRI for gynecological and prostate cancers.
Dr. Hricak provided visionary leadership of the Department of Radiology that ushered in dramatic growth of its clinical and research capacities. During her tenure, the number of faculty members rose from 29 to more than 150, leading to large increases in the annual volumes of imaging studies performed.
In addition, the number of grants awarded to the department yearly increased from less than 10 to more than 150. Upon joining MSK, she coordinated with institutional leadership to find the space and funds for a Center for Image-Guided Intervention. She worked successfully not only to recruit additional interventional radiology (IR) faculty but also to establish an IR clinic and obtain admitting privileges for IR physicians. This model would subsequently be adopted by other institutions across the country.
Starting in the early 2000s, she also brought about significant investments in radiochemistry and molecular imaging and therapy, including the installment of MSK’s first clinical PET/CT scanners. Her efforts helped establish MSK’s molecular imaging program as one of the strongest in the world.
Dr. Hricak is an elected and highly active member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). She has served on the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academies and is a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum, for which she has chaired three workshops. She has also been the president of major professional societies, including the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Dr. Hricak has constantly sought to promote global health and international collaboration in education through her various leadership roles in academic medicine and professional service. At MSK, she obtained support from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to provide training in breast imaging practice and research for dozens of fellows from Europe, South and Central America, and Asia, many of whom are now in prominent academic positions around the world.
In 2025, she was named a BCRF Emeritus Investigator – a title reserved for BCRF investigators who have been continuously funded by BCRF for 20 years or more and remain active in the research community beyond their BCRF tenure. She received the Distinguished Global Oncology Leader Award at the 2025 Global Health Catalyst Summit in recognition of her long-term efforts to advance cancer imaging and care globally, including her leadership in facilitating the passage of the resolution “Strengthening Medical Imaging Capacity” at the 78th World Health Assembly. Her many other awards include 8 gold medals; 22 honorary fellowships and memberships from societies on 5 continents; the David Rall Medal for Distinguished Leadership from the NAM; and honorary doctorates from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany and the University of Toulouse III, Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France.