Susan m. Asher, MD

Susan M. Ascher, MD

Professor Emerita of Radiology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and served as the inaugural Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Radiology at Georgetown University Hospital (GUH). She earned her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College, completed a Diagnostic Radiology Residency at Yale–New Haven Hospital, and pursued an Abdominal Imaging Fellowship at GUH. Following her fellowship, she joined the GUH Radiology faculty, ultimately serving as Co-Chief of Abdominal Imaging until July 2020. She is also a Cura Personalis Fellow at Georgetown University, mentoring medical students on their professional identity formation.

In 2024, Dr. Ascher was selected as one of 40 global leaders to join the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, a program for senior leaders committed to addressing complex societal challenges. With colleagues from her cohort, she co-launched the Women’s Health Innovation Fund (WHx) at the MIT Media Lab and co-founded Meri Jankari, a culturally sensitive, web-based platform delivering reproductive health education to women and girls in resource-constrained regions of India.

Dr. Ascher’s career has been defined by her expertise in gynecologic imaging, her leadership in advancing women’s health, and her dedication to mentorship and sponsorship. She is a Fellow of the Society for Advanced Body Imaging (SABI), the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Her professional service spans numerous national and international radiology organizations. Within SABI, she has served on multiple committees and the board of directors. As President, she spearheaded a rebranding initiative that promoted innovation, facilitated the translation of emerging technologies into clinical practice, and fostered an inclusive environment that nurtured mentorship and education. At the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), she served as both a panelist and moderator for the Sunday Unknown Film Panel, Chair of the RadioGraphics Women’s Imaging Educational Exhibit Committee, editorial board member for the RSNA Daily, and member of the Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee. Within the ACR, she Co-chaired the imaging recommendations for uterine fibroids and contributed to the O-RADS MRI Education Working Group. She has also served on the Society of Interventional Radiology’s guideline panel for uterine fibroid embolization and on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Menstrual Disorders and Adenomyosis Classification Committees.

Dr. Ascher has influenced clinical standards and research priorities through her service on NIH study sections, as a voting member of FDA Medical Device Advisory Committees, and as an invited expert to the FDA Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Advisory Panel on power morcellation during fibroid surgery. Her public service includes a term as Medical Advisor to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she championed the development and dissemination of novel imaging technologies.