Cheri Canon, M.D., FACR, FASR, FAAWR
Chief Physician Executive, UAB Health System
Dr. Canon assumed the role of chief physician executive of UAB Health System and president of the University of Alabama (UA) Health Services Foundation in May 2024. This followed 13 years of service as professor and chair of Radiology at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Texas at Austin, followed by medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch. After completing her residency training in diagnostic radiology at UAB, she joined the faculty in the UAB Division of Diagnostic Radiology’s Abdominal Imaging Section.
Dr. Canon served as an oral examiner for the American Board of Radiology 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 ACR and in 2021 was presented with the ACR Gold Medal, its highest honor. She received the Alabama Academy of Radiology’s Silver Medal in spring 2022.
Dr. 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. She previously was president and a member of the executive board for Momentum, a Birmingham women’s leadership organization. In honor of her advocacy for women, she was recognized in 2020 with the American Association of Women in Radiology’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Award. In 2022, Dr. Canon received the highest honor from the University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine Alumni Association, the Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumni Award.