Section
Association of Program Directors in Interventional Radiology (APDIR)
This section stimulates interest in and provides guidelines for teaching in cardiovascular and interventional radiology. The section also addresses the educational, regulatory and financial issues that affect the future of IR.
The APDIR will hold an Annual Business Meeting during SIR’s Annual Scientific Meeting. An annual Educational Meeting may be held at a separate time and location as determined by the APDIR Board of Directors.
Membership in APDIR is assigned to individual institutions:
- Active membership: All institutions within the United States that have at least one of the following ACGME-accredited training programs: integrated interventional radiology residency, independent interventional radiology residency, or vascular and interventional radiology fellowship, are eligible for active membership. ESIR-only programs may choose to be an active member or an associate member.
- Associate membership: All other radiology training programs, including ESIR-only programs, non-ACGME-accredited IR fellowship programs and programs seeking initial IR residency accreditation, are eligible for associate membership. Radiology training programs recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RSPSC) are also eligible for associate membership. Representatives from training programs with associate membership may not vote or hold office.
For questions about APDIR membership, please contact gme@sirweb.org.
Join APDIR and ensure your IR and ESIR residents are prepared for residency.
For ESIR-only programs, APDIR associate membership covers the diagnostic radiology program director and/or an IR faculty member who oversees the ESIR program along with the program coordinator.
APDIR will make sure your program has the resources it needs to enhance your ESIR curriculum and meet program requirements.
Benefits of APDIR membership:
Program Directors and Coordinators have access to the APDIR Community on SIR Connect, complete with access to discussion and library. Coordinators also have access to a Program Coordinator community.
Programs receive a discounted rate for access to Residency Essentials program for their residents
Programs are able to send 1 senior resident to the IR Residency Practicum with a discounted registration rate and a complimentary hotel night during meeting.
Program Directors receive Invitation to the APDIR Business Meeting at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting
Program Directors and Program Coordinators receive invitation and discounted registration to the APDIR Education Meeting
For questions about APDIR membership, please contact gme@sirweb.org.
Current roster
2026–2027 APDIR Board of Directors
- President: Geogy Vatakencherry, MD, FSIR, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA
- President-elect: Joanna Kee-Sampson, MD, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
- Immediate past president: Quinn C. Meisinger, MD, University of California, San Diego, CA
- Secretary treasurer: Tom R. Burdick, MD, Dartmouth Health, Lebanon, NH
- Membership councilor: Kyle J. Cooper, MD, FSIR, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA
- Councilor, at-large: Rex M. Pillai, MD, TPMG, Roseville, CA
- SIR Education Division councilor: Sun-Ho-Ahn, MD, FSIR, Brown University, Providence, RI
- SIR RFS chair ex-officio: Dogan Polat, MD, MBA, Mount Sinai, New York
- SIR President ex-officio: Saher S. Sabri, MD, FSIR, MedStar Health, Washington DC
Resources for program directors
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Resources for program directors
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Resources for program directors
APDIR: 2026-2027 Residency Interview Format
2026–2027 Recruitment Cycle: APDIR Statement on Residency Interview Format
The Association of Program Directors in Interventional Radiology (APDIR) recommends that programs return to in-person interviews for the 2026–2027 recruitment cycle. APDIR recognizes that interview format is a program-level decision and affirms that in-person interviews are appropriate and consistent with the unique characteristics of IR training and recruitment.
APDIR acknowledges the AAMC's continued recommendation for virtual interviews and the equity and cost-reduction benefits of virtual formats. The AAMC also allows that programs with unique goals and context may take different approaches for sound reasons. Interventional Radiology training inherently involves specialty-specific characteristics that make in-person interviews particularly valuable:
- IR residency is a six-year commitment during which residents join small, tightly knit clinical teams of typically one to three new trainees per year, making interpersonal fit a meaningful and consequential component of the selection process.
- Applicants to IR are dual-pathway candidates navigating simultaneous DR and integrated IR decisions, for whom direct program visits may materially inform significant career choices.
- IR training involves procedural culture, team dynamics, and hands-on technical workspace elements that are difficult to assess adequately through a virtual format alone.
APDIR therefore affirms that:
- In-person interviews are the recommended format for IR residency programs, consistent with the AAMC's recognition that programs may adopt different approaches for sound, specialty-specific reasons. This statement is intended to support programs in discussions with their Designated Institutional Official and Graduate Medical Education Office, and APDIR encourages institutional leadership to support programs in implementing this format.
- The physical infrastructure of an IR program — including angiography suites, hybrid operating rooms, clinic space, and procedural work areas — is a core component of what applicants are evaluating when selecting a training program and cannot be meaningfully assessed without an in-person visit.
- Virtual interviews or a hybrid format remain fully acceptable options for programs whose institutional context, resources, or applicant pool considerations make that format preferable. Programs that determine a virtual or hybrid approach best serves their recruitment needs remain fully supported in that decision.
- Programs conducting in-person interviews are encouraged to make reasonable efforts to limit applicant cost burden, including transparent communication about logistics and, where possible, consolidated scheduling.
APDIR will continue to gather data on interview format outcomes in IR recruitment and will update this guidance as evidence accumulates.