William G. Bradley Jr. *74

William Bradley, the distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), School of Medicine, died Nov. 20, 2017. He was 69.

Bradley graduated from Cal Tech in 1970. In 1974, he earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton. He completed his medical degree and radiology training in 1977 at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). While at UCSF, he translated the complex physics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for other physicians.

He published more than 200 papers, 54 chapters, and 21 textbooks. Bradley’s much-honored medical and teaching career reached its culmination when he was professor and chair of the radiology department at the School of Medicine at UCSD from 2000 to 2015. There he is credited with building a formidable research program.

Alexander Norbash, chair of the radiology department at UCSD School of Medicine, wrote that Bradley was “one of the dominant architects in health care as it is practiced today, given his profound influence on the development and implementation of MRI as a usable and practical diagnostic tool. More than any other single radiologist in the United States, Bill helped establish the new discipline of MRI.”

Bradley is survived by his wife, Dr. Rosalind Dietrich; four children; and five grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.