Ina Tonkin, MD, professor emeritus of radiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, received the Gold Medal Award from the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging. The award was given in recognition of Dr. Tonkin’s lifetime achievement, service and continuing support of cardiovascular imaging education and research, especially in congenital heart disease.
Before retiring in 2011, Dr. Tonkin worked as a pediatric radiologist with a primary interest in heart diseases and interventional radiology. She became interested in her field after completing her pediatrics residency at the University of Florida. “The radiology department at the time was very active in cardiac and interventional work with several world-class professors, which caught my attention,” she said. “I entered residency doing dual work in pediatric radiology and interventional radiology with an NIH fellowship to follow.”
After teaching stints at the University of Arizona and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Dr. Tonkin came to UTHSC in 1979 to teach about congenital heart disease and pediatric interventional work. “The most rewarding memories of my time in Memphis were the opportunities to work with incredible people like Dr. Don Watson and the late Dr. Bob Allen, while caring for patients,” she said.