Biography

Val Murray Runge (born August 28, 1956 in Austin, Texas) is an American professor of radiology and the editor-in-chief of Investigative Radiology. Dr. Runge attended Stanford University, obtaining a bachelor of science degree in 1978 with honors. He subsequently received his MD from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1982. Following completion of a diagnostic radiology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Runge was appointed as assistant professor and chief of service of magnetic resonance at Tufts University School of Medicine. He was promoted to associate professor, then was appointed professor of diagnostic radiology and biomedical engineering, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center, and the Rosenbaum Endowed Chair of Diagnostic Radiology, at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. In 2002, Dr. Runge was appointed the Robert and Alma Moreton Centennial Chair in Radiology, Scott & White Memorial Hospital, and professor of radiology at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. In 2010, he was appointed the John Sealy Distinguished Chair and Professor of Radiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. In 2011, he received an additional appointment as a visiting professor at Tongji Medical College, Wuhan, Central China. Dr. Runge then spent two years in Zurich, Switzerland as a visiting professor at the University Hospital of Zürich. He currently lives in Bern, Switzerland, with a long-term appointment as a member of the faculty at Inselspital, Universitätsspital Bern.

Dr. Runge is an early pioneer in MRI, who is known for his work in 1982-1984 that demonstrated the potential as well as early diagnostic utility of intravenous contrast media in MRI. He is an author of more than 200 peer-reviewed, published papers. He is also the editor for seventeen medical textbooks, several of which have been translated into other languages. He has given more than 600 scientific and invited presentations at national and international meetings and medical schools.

Dr. Runge holds a U.S. patent (#4615879), together with Jeffrey A. Clanton, for particulate NMR contrast agents. He is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He remains active in research and development of MRI contrast agents and advanced MRI imaging techniques. Dr. Runge maintains an educational website which offers insights from international experts in MRI on imaging techniques and strategies.

In 2011, Runge received the Harry Fisher Medal for Excellence in Contrast Media Research from the Contrast Media Research Society. Other academic honors include the Executive Council Award from the American Roentgen Ray Society (for research in MRI and multiple sclerosis), the Dyke Memorial Award from the American Society of Neuroradiology (for MR contrast media research), and a Magna Cum Laude Award (for the best scientific exhibit) from the Radiological Society of North America. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Radiology (1986).