Mark S. Parker, M.D., FACR

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• A crescendo-decrescendo murmur and lightheadedness in a patient with a left ventricular assist device.

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Get to know Radiologist Dr. Mark S. Parker, who serves patients in Richmond, Virginia.

A well-established physician in his field, Dr. Parker’s specialties include thoracic trauma and critical care, interstitial lung disease, and lung cancer. He holds multiple positions at VCU Health including Co-Section Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging, Director of the Thoracic Imaging Fellowship, and Director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program. 

The Cardiothoracic Imaging Section specializes in the diagnosis of diseases and disorders of the lungs, mediastinum, airway, pleura and chest wall, myocardium and coronary arteries.

The Thoracic Imaging Fellowship program provides advanced training in all aspects of cardio-pulmonary imaging, enabling fellows to develop specialized skills necessary for a successful career in academic radiology or in a large subspecialty private practice.

The Lung Cancer Screening Program at VCU Health was Virginia’s first American College of Radiology-Designated lung cancer screening center and is recognized by the Lung Cancer Alliance as the only Center of Excellence in Central Virginia. The clinic is led by experts in lung cancer screening and diagnosis.

In addition, Dr. Parker is a Professor of Diagnostic Radiology and Internal Medicine within the Department of Radiology at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. The Department of Radiology is at the forefront of academic radiology departments. Faculty members offer clinical, technological, educational, and research initiatives that train the next generation of radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians.

After earning his medical degree from the Eastern Virginia Medical School in 1989, Dr. Parker went on to complete his internship in surgery and residency in diagnostic radiology at the same educational venue. This was followed by a fellowship in thoracic imaging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

A Fellow of the American College of Radiology, the doctor is board-certified in diagnostic radiology by the American Board of Radiology, which is a not-for-profit physician-led organization that oversees the certification and ongoing professional development of specialists in diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics.

In his professional experience, he has served as a member of the ACR’s Continuous Professional Improvement Committee, co-authoring educational modules combining images, questions, answers, rationales, and references into publications for an authentic self-assessment, CME and SAM credits. He has also served as an oral examiner for the American Board of Radiology and currently writes cardiac and thoracic exam questions for the ACR annual Diagnostic Radiology In-Training exam. 

With an outstanding commitment to his specialty, Dr. Parker is an invited peer-review journal and book reviewer for the Journal of Thoracic Imaging, Academic Radiology, the American Journal of Roentgenology, and CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology. He serves on the ACR National RADPEER Review Committee and has co-authored three thoracic imaging textbooks. 

In addition, he serves on the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Evidence-based Practice Center Systematic Review Protocol Project on Imaging for Pretreatment Staging of Small Cell Lung Cancer in two capacities: firstly as a technical expert and secondly as a key informant. He is one of a handful of radiologists in the country serving on this committee.

Radiology is a medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat diseases within the human body. Radiologists are medical doctors who specialize in diagnosing and treating injuries and diseases using medical imaging procedures, such as exams and tests, X-rays, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, mammography, positron emission tomography, and ultrasound.

In May 2019, Dr. Parker was named Chair of the Scientific Abstract Subcommittee for the American Roentgen Ray Society. He also serves on the Professional Quality Improvement Committee and the Scientific Program and Symposium Committee for the American Roentgen Ray Society.

As a testament to his success, he was the only radiologist asked to both chair a session and present a talk on lung cancer screening before the World Cancer Conference in 2018. He was also one of a few radiologists asked to present before the International Conference on Oncology and Radiology in Rome, Italy in 2018.

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