Barry Katzen, M.D. ’70, is a global trailblazer in interventional radiology and vascular medicine. His career is defined by a relentless drive to innovate, educate and challenge the status quo — from transforming patient care to reshaping how we collaborate in medicine. 

He credits the Miller School of Medicine with laying the foundation for his lifelong mission. 

“Beyond exceptional training, I learned the importance of driving change and pursuing disruptive ideas that can move medicine forward,” Dr. Katzen said. 

When he graduated, ultrasound and MRIs didn’t exist. Interventional radiology, offering minimally invasive procedures that are more precise and less risky than traditional surgeries, was just emerging, and medicine often operated in silos instead of teams. He recognized opportunities where others saw limits. 

Dr. Katzen has been at the forefront of minimally invasive vascular therapies for decades. He was among the first in the United States to perform percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, a procedure to open blocked blood vessels, as well as peripheral thrombolysis, and he helped lead trials that brought the first intravascular stent to market.  

“I’m always asking how something can be improved,” Dr. Katzen said. “My goal was never to be the one who did the most, but to be the first — to innovate and pioneer what’s next.” 

In 1976, Dr. Katzen launched the interventional radiology program at Alexandria Hospital in Virginia, where he revolutionized medical education by introducing live patient demonstrations — an unprecedented concept in the U.S. 

He founded the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute (MCVI) at Baptist Health South Florida in 1987. It supported a team approach and became a national model for multidisciplinary care by integrating radiology, cardiology and surgery under one roof. 

“Collaboration leads to safer, more effective care,” said Dr. Katzen, now chief medical executive emeritus of MCVI. 

A past president of both the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and the American Heart Association’s Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease, he has authored more than 190 peer-reviewed articles, four textbooks and countless chapters. He is the founding editor of Techniques in Vascular and Interventional Radiology and chief medical editor of Endovascular Today. He also launched the Endovascular Forum, one of the first global platforms for circulatory disease education. 

His accolades include the University of Miami Medical School Hall of Fame, the SIR Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe Gold Medal — which he was the first American to receive. In 2007, the Barry T. Katzen Medical Directorship was established in his honor. 

His legacy is one of bold ideas, global impact and unwavering commitment to patient-centered care. 

“There’s never been a more exciting time in medicine,” said Dr. Katzen. “Our job is to help people live better using the least invasive, most effective care possible.”