Honoraries

 אורח כבוד – אגוד הרדיולוגים בישראל

Guest of Honor – Israel Radiological Society

The Annual Meeting of the Israel Radiological Association

(27-29 October, 2004. Eilat, Israel)

This year, our guest of honor  will be Prof. Michael Grunebaum, who has hold the position for many years as Chairman of Pediatric Radiology at the Schneider Hospital in Petach-Tiqva.  Prof. Grunebaum is a pioneer of Pediatric Radiology in Israel and well known internationally. He has thought and educated  many generations of  radiologists as well as fellows in Pediatric Radiology.

         (Prof. M.Graif, Chairman of the ISRA)

About Professor Michael Grunebaum

(Speech delivered by Dr. Liora Kornreich at the Annual  Meeting)

Prof. Grunebaum is the uncontested founder of Pediatric Radiology in Israel.  He emigrated to Israel from Germany in 1936 at a very young age. He started  his medical studies in Strasbourg, France and completed at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After a year of residency in pathology he found his true calling in Pediatric Radiology, under the guidance of  Prof. Hans Salinger in Petach-Tiqva. Since 1965 Prof. Grunebaum has devoted all his energies to the practice and advancements of Pediatric Radiology. He was deeply influenced by the major  pioneers in this field: Prof. E. Neuhauser and Prof. J. Kirkpatrick, heads of the Radiology Department at the Boston Children’s hospital, where Prof. Grunebaum made his residency and recived further training.

Dr. Grunebaum’s devotion to the cause of Pediatric Radiology, with the motto  that  “A child is not a small adult”, was rewarded in 1972, by the establishment of the first Pediatric Radiology Unit in Israel at the  Beilinson Medical Center, and in 1979 he was appointed “Chief “ of   the first Pediatrc Radiology Department in Israel. From there he strived continuously for excellency and for the well being of  the  small  patients. He was a pioneer in the use of fluoroscopy equipment especially designed for neonates and infants with reduced irradiation. He established dedicated ultrasonography, and subsequently CT and  MRI services for children. He participated actively in planning of the Radiology Department in the new Children’s Hospital, and  in 1992  he succeeded  in realizing his dreams, with the inauguration of the Imaging Department at the Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel (SCMCI) at the Rabin Campus in Petach-Tiqva, where he served as Radiologist-in-Chif until his retirement in 1997.  Prof. Grunebaum also conceived the idea for  the foundation of the Pediatric Nuclear Medicine Unit at the SCMCI.

 During his stay in Boston  he  was appointed as Visiting Associate Professor at the Harvard University Medical School, and in 1983 he was nominated Clinical  Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at the Tel-Aviv University. In 1996 he introduced the first program for "Pediatric Radiology Qualification Studies" in Israel that was recognized and approved by the Israel Medical Association. Since than, the  Imaging Department at the Schneider Children’s Hospital is the only place for this "Qualification Studies"  in the country.

Prof. Grunebaum recognized the importance of clinical research and attained admirable academic achievements. He authored more than 140 peer-reviewed papers and published 3 books in Pediatric Radiology and Ultrasonography. In  recognition of his pivotal  role in the field of Pediatrics, he was elected as the first chairman for the Board examination in Pediatrics. When Pediatric Radiology was included in the board-examinations of  Diagnostic Radiology, he served as an examiner in this section.

All of us, who know Prof. Grunebaum, admire him as a teacher. His weekly hospital-rounds  with the various departments were always a vastly instructive experience, and his lectures, on an amazing wide-range of subjects -  from the basics of Radiology to medical students to highly specialized topics at international  meetings -  were meticulously prepared and perfectly organized. His department was always updated in the field of Pediatric Radiology, where generations of pediatricians and pediatric-radiologists gained in-depth experience and knowledge. Prof. Grunebaum is an international figure in the field of Pediatric Radiology, and his contacts were crucial in persuading the European Society of Pediatric Radiology to hold its 39th Meeting in Jerusalem in 1999.

Prof. Grunebaum is the ultimate gentleman. He demonstrate utmost sensitivity for the children’s needs and  respect for their parents, and is well liked by peers and  patients. Thanks to his many achievements, his standards and warm personality, Prof. Grunebaum  has been a model for pediatric radiologists in Israel and worldwide. The impact he has had on the field of Pediatrc Radiology will be felt for generations to come.