Desiree E. Morgan, M.D., FSER, professor in the Department of Radiology, has been awarded the senior faculty 2023 Dean’s Excellence Award in Teaching.
Morgan is the vice chair of Education for the Department of Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a former program director of the UAB Diagnostic Radiology residency program. She specializes in gastrointestinal radiology, particularly imaging of the pancreas and hepatobiliary system.
She is a phenomenal mentor to medical students, residents, and junior faculty and among her extensive CV she is proud to note that 42 publications, 72 educational or scientific posters, and 75 scientific papers are attributed to her mentees throughout the years.
"As a mentor and teacher, my greatest joy is to see my mentees surpass their and my expectations in academia. However, it is the daily teaching of trainees and students that I find fulfilling," Morgan states. "The opportunity to witness their incremental learning, which builds on each day's experiences caring for patients until they become the next generation of physicians in a blink, ready for independent practice. I am honored and grateful to be a small part of their journey.”
She has won 28 teaching awards at UAB, including the Desiree E. Morgan, M.D. Faculty Award for Continual Excellence in Teaching, named in her honor in 2021. She is recognized nationally for teaching practicing radiologists, with 20 visiting professorships and more than 200 invited lectures.
Her extensive research focuses on abdominal dual energy CT, physiologic abdominal MR imaging, and neoplastic and inflammatory conditions of the pancreas.
Morgan is a fellow and executive board member of the Society of Advanced Body Imaging, a fellow and former member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Abdominal Radiology for which she served as president in 2020, and an Abdominal trustee for the American Board of Radiology for which she serves as the vice chair of Diagnostic Radiology on the Board of Trustees.
She is on the steering committee and serves as a mentor for the UAB Healthcare Educators Academy, and most recently, she was named a Heersink Innovation Fellow.
Cheri L. Canon, M.D., FACR, FAAWR, FSAR, reflects on Morgan's influence by stating, “Dr. Morgan is a passionate, enthusiastic, and driven individual who inspires us to improve ourselves. Her true talent lies in mentoring and her lasting impact is seen in the future generation of physician-scientists and academicians she has shaped”. She continues, “The number of students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty members who have achieved successful academic careers (not necessarily in Radiology) as a result of Dr. Desiree E. Morgan's mentoring is the most impactful and challenging aspect to quantify accurately”.