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Passing of Edward Coleman

We mourn the passing of R. Edward Coleman MD, professor of radiology, Chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs. Dr. Geoff Rubin, chair of radiology, wrote in an email, “For anyone of us arriving at Duke Radiology over the past 33 years, Ed was a welcoming presence. His compassion, knowledge, and integrity blended seamlessly with his affable nature. His door was always open, and his smile was ever present… During my time at Duke, Ed had been a great source of ideas and support. I sought his wise counsel frequently and was rewarded as I know many of you have been with deep insights and sage advice.” Program director Dr. Jim Dobbins wrote, “Ed was a key leader in the science and clinical practice of nuclear medicine for many decades.  His scientific and clinical work with be missed, but more importantly, we will miss Ed as a friend, colleague, and mentor.  Ed was a true gentleman scholar, and I will miss his warmth, wisdom, and leadership. He was a faculty member at Duke for 33 years, and also a member of our medical physics graduate program faculty for five years.” Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Coleman participated in the first ever PET imaging of humans. Later, he was instrumental in getting reimbursement for PET imaging, thus transforming it from an esoteric research technique into one of the most important cancer imaging tools of the last decade. He also worked closely with GE to develop the first combination PET-CT systems, and in just a few years, those became the new standard of care. You can learn more about him in this full obituary [ext. link]. Dr. Coleman was active in his work until the end. In fact just a few weeks after he passed, one of his research studies was published that showed PET brain scans can detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.