FAIRFAX, Va.-Applications are now being accepted by the Society of Interventional Radiology and the SIR Foundation for several awards and scholarships for residents, fellows, medical students and interventional radiologists who are in the beginning years of practice and who want to share their research during SIR's 34th Annual Scientific Meeting March 7-12, 2009, in San Diego.

The SIR Foundation Resident/Fellow Research Award is designed to provide residents and fellows an opportunity to attend and present scientific research at the society's Annual Scientific Meeting. Recipients receive a registration and travel award payable toward one-half of airfare, hotel and other meeting expenses up to $1,000, with the other half to be paid by an awardee's institution.

The Dr. Constantin Cope Medical Student Research Award is open to second-, third- or fourth-year medical students who have demonstrated an interest in interventional radiology. The SIR Foundation award recognizes the student author of an accepted abstract that best honors the spirit of inventiveness and scientific purity. Recipients receive a registration and travel award up to $1,000 payable toward the recipients' airfare, hotel and related meeting expenses.


The application deadline for these two programs is Nov. 14. Applicants for the SIR Foundation Resident/Fellow and Cope research awards must submit an abstract via the SIR abstract submission Web site (SIR2009.abstractcentral.com) by Oct. 7. Additional award information may be found at www.SIRFoundation.org.

The SIR Resident-in-training Scholarship is open to first- and second-year residents and provides funding to attend the society's Annual Scientific Meeting, including the cost of travel and lodging for two nights. Ideal candidates have an interest in interventional radiology but will not yet be committed to pursuing this specialty. Application deadline is Oct. 22. For more information on this program, please visit www.SIRweb.org. For information on all awards and scholarships, e-mail AnnualMeeting@SIRweb.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, usually in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine.

Today many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. In 2008, the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) celebrates 35 years of quality patient care innovation. This study provides another indication of the tremendous innovation in the development of new devices and techniques that interventional radiology continues to offer. Visit www.SIRweb.org.