John Leyendecker, M.D.

John R. Leyendecker, M.D., is Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern, who serves as the Department of Radiology’s Vice Chair of Academic Affairs. His clinical interests include abdominal imaging with computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and ultrasound.

I was drawn to the field of imaging because I wanted to solve problems and provide the answers that drive patient management. No other specialty touches the lives of so many people.

Dr. Leyendecker holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from West Chester University in West Chester Pennsylvania. He earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and completed his radiology residency training at Emory University in Atlanta. He then received advanced fellowship training in vascular and interventional radiology at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, and in body magnetic resonance imaging at Washington University in St. Louis.

Before joining the faculty of UT Southwestern in 2015, Dr. Leyendecker served as Executive Vice Chair of Clinical Operations in the Department of Radiology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he was a Professor of Radiology and Urology and a member of the Abdominal Imaging section.

His research and educational focus includes clinical applications of MRI in the abdomen and imaging of abdominal malignancies such as renal cell carcinoma.

A career marked by service

Dr. Leyendecker’s professional memberships include the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), Society of Abdominal Radiology (SAR), Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), American College of Radiology (ACR), and American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), and he has been integral to the development and refinement of many appropriateness criteria and national guidelines related to abdominal imaging. He was the 2014-2015 Igor Laufer Visiting Professor of the SAR and currently chairs the Abstract Review Committee of the ARRS.

As a radiology educator, Dr. Leyendecker has served as a visiting professor or invited lecturer at numerous universities and medical centers within the U.S. and abroad, and has also been invited to speak at more than 50 national and international conferences and symposia.

In addition to authoring more than 60 original research articles, invited reviews, and national guidelines, Dr. Leyendecker has contributed chapters to seven textbooks and has co-written three books. He also serves on the editorial board of Abdominal Radiology and as a reviewer for multiple other imaging journals.

Personal note:

Combining his longtime interests in astronomy and imaging technologies, Dr. Leyendecker spends much of his free time photographing celestial objects and events at dark sites around the world.

Medical School

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1988)

Internship

York Hospital (1989), Transitional Year

Residency

Emory University School of Medicine (1993), Diagnostic Radiology

Fellowship

Wilford Hall Medical Center (1994), Vascular & Interventional Radiology

Fellowship

Washington University, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (2002), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mri)

 Featured Books

Problem Solving in Abdominal Imaging

Dalrymple, Leyendecker, Oliphant (Ed.) (). Elsevier

• Society of Abdominal Radiology Honorary Lecturer
  European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (2015)
• Article of the Year
  Abdominal Imaging (2014)
• Igor Laufer Visiting Professorship
  Society of Abdominal Radiology (2014)
• Bronze Award for Educational Exhibit
  American Roentgen Ray Society (2013)
• Fellow
  Society of Abdominal Radiology (2013)
• 17th A. Everette James Jr. Lecturer
  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (2012)
• Fellow
  Society of Uroradiology (2012)
• Bronze Award for Educational Exhibit
  American Roentgen Ray Society (2011)
• James L. Quinn III Award for Teaching Excellence
  Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (2011)
• Certificate of Merit for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (2009)
• Best Educational Exhibit Award
  Society of Uroradiology (2008)
• Excellence in Design Award for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (2008)
• Cum Laude Award for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (2007)
• Cum Laude Award for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (2006)
• Commendation Medal
  US Armed Forces (2000)
• Finalist, Gold-Headed Cane Award for Excellence in Patient Care, Education, and Research
  Wilford Hall Medical Center (2000)
• Teacher of the Year
  Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (2000)
• Meritorious Service Medal
  US Armed Forces (1999)
• Certificate of Merit for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (1996)
• Certificate of Merit for Educational Exhibit
  Radiological Society of North America (1995)
• Chief Resident
  Department of Radiology, Emory University (1992)
• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
  (1988)
• Chandrakant Dave Memorial Fellow
  Roswell Park Memorial Institute (1981)

• American College of Radiology
• American Roentgen Ray Society
• International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Radiological Society of North America
• Society of Abdominal Radiology