Dr. Robert J. Stanley is the former editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Roentgenology, having held that post from July 2003 till July 2008. Prior to that he had been the chairman of the Department of Radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for 20 years, until October, 2002, when he stepped down from the chair and embarked on a sabbatical to learn as much about the world of electronic publishing as possible, prior to applying for the AJR editor’s position at the American Roentgen Ray Society.

Dr. Stanley got his start in academic radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR), Washington University, St. Louis. In 1970, after completing his radiology residency across town at St. Louis University, he joined the faculty at MIR, which was chaired by Dr. Juan Taveras, of neuroradiology fame. Within a year, Dr. Taveras had left for Harvard and Dr. Ronald Evens became the new chairman. Under Dr. Evens' leadership, Dr. Stanley and the abdominal radiology section, of which he was the chief, enjoyed a very productive and professionally satisfying 12 years.

In the fall of 1975, EMI elected to collaborate with Washington University and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for the implementation and evaluation of its first two whole body CT scanners in the United States. Given the opportunity, along with Dr. Stuart Sagel, to head up the newly created body CT facility, Dr. Stanley soon became an authority in the new imaging field. From October 1975 until his departure in May 1982, Dr. Stanley focused on abdominal CT and vascular/interventional procedures, all of which were included under the responsibilities of the abdomen section. Just prior to leaving the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Dr. Stanley and his co-authors, Drs. Stuart Sagel and Joe K. T. Lee, completed the first edition of their CT textbook, the fourth edition of which is now in print.

Dr. Stanley began his chairmanship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in June 1982 and has seen the department grow in size and stature over the past 27 years. During this time, he remained active in all aspects of abdominal radiology, and also found time to serve as a member of the Board of Chancellors of the American College of Radiology for 7 years, chairing the Commission on Standards and Accreditation, as well as being elected the Vice-President of the College. During this same time period he also served as a committee chairman and officer of the American Roentgen Ray Society, of which he is now a senior past president. From 1997 until June of 2005, Dr. Stanley served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Radiology, responsible for the written and oral examination in gastrointestinal radiology.

He was elected into Fellowship of the American College of Radiology in 1981, Honorary Fellowship in the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists in 1988, and Honorary Fellowship in the Faculty of Radiologists of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2005.

During the years 1985 to 1994, while continuing his duties as chairman of the radiology department, he also served as the first and only Chairman of the Board of Directors of Complete Health, a managed care health insurance company, which started primarily to serve the needs of the University of Alabama at Birmingham employee health care needs and grew over its 8 years history to operate in seven southeastern states. The sale to United Healthcare based in Minneapolis, Minn, in 1994 produced a substantial return to the UA Health Services Foundation on its original investment. The resulting fund has supported numerous educational and research ventures since then.

In March, 2003, Dr. Stanley was named the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Roentgenology, known as the AJR, one of the two largest radiology journals in North America. In July of 2003, he moved the editor's office to Birmingham, Alabama, while continuing to serve on the faculty. Since July 2008, he has rejoined the clinical faculty of UAB where he is primarily involved with abdominal CT studies. He also serves the Medical Association of the State of Alabama as an accreditation surveyor of sites in the state which offer CME programs.