Cheri L. Canon

Cheri L. Canon, M.D., FACR, FSAR, FAAWR, is an American abdominal radiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine Department of Radiology. She currently serves as president of University of Alabama Health Services Foundation (UAHSF), chief physician executive of the UAB Health System, and is a professor emerita for the UAB Department of Radiology.

Education Canon completed her undergraduate training at the University of Texas at Austin, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in zoology. Afterward, she attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texa. After graduating medical school with honors, she completed a diagnostic radiology residency at UAB, where she joined the faculty in the Abdominal Imaging Section in 1998. She sits on the UAB Medicine Joint Operating Leadership Council and is a trustee on the UAHSF board.

Career Canon served as a professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine after joining the faculty in the Department of Radiology in 1998. She served as the school’s Curriculum Committee chair when an organ-based curriculum was implemented in 2001. From 2003 to 2008, she was the radiology residency program director, in addition to serving as the vice-chair of education from 2004 to 2008.

Canon served as an oral examiner for the American Board of Radiology (ABR) for 11 years, a member of the Board of Trustees, and now sits on its Board of Governors as the president-elect. She was vice president of the American College of Radiology (ACR), chancellor on the board, and chair of the ACR Commission on Education. As a member of the inaugural ACR Radiology Leadership Institute board, she helped launch a comprehensive leadership development program in partnership with the most recognized business schools. She is a fellow of the college and received the ACR Gold Medal in 2021, its highest honor. She received the Alabama Academy of Radiology’s Silver Medal in spring 2022. Canon is a past president of the Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD) and the co-creator and co-director of LEAD, a women’s leadership development program jointly developed by SCARD and GE Healthcare.

Canon previously served in leadership – including as president and on the executive board – for Momentum, a Birmingham women’s leadership organization. In recognition of her advocacy for women, she was recognized with the American Association of Women in Radiology Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award in 2020. In 2022, Canon was recognized by the University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine Alumni Association’s highest honor, the Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumni Award.

Research Canon’s research interests include diseases of the esophagus and imaging of postoperative patients. Additional areas of interest include resident education, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development. In addition to her peer-reviewed publications, her editorial experience includes one book contribution, multiple book chapters, and four leadership webinars with the American College of Radiology Leadership Institute. Furthermore, Canon has served as an editorial reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Roentgenology, World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Journal of the American College of Radiology. In addition to her multiple publications, she has also given over 170 presentations at different events. 2015 Medical Technology Schools 25 Top Radiology Professors: 2015 Recognition of Exceptional Manuscript Review for 2014, JACR: 2014 American Board of Radiology Lifetime Service Award: 2013 American Board of Radiology Distinguished Service Award: 2012