Melinda Staiger, MD

Dr. Melinda Staiger, a Fellow of the American College of Radiology, is the Director of Clinical Operations at the Carol M. Baldwin Center here at Stony Brook and serves as the Fellowship Director for Breast Imaging.  She graduated from the NYU School of Medicine where she also completed both her internship and Diagnostic Radiology residency.  Her decision to specialize in breast imaging arose from personal experience, when her mother's first mammogram was misinterpreted as showing cancer; at that time, there were very few breast imaging specialists, and very little literature on breast imaging from which to learn interpretation of mammograms and ultrasound exams.  In cooperation with the breast imaging department at the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, Dr. Staiger arranged to take a mini-fellowship in breast imaging and needle biopsy, becoming the first Director of Mammography at the NYU Medical Center.  She went on to teach this new subspecialty to radiology staff, medical students, radiology residents and fellows in NY, PA and NJ, as well as give numerous presentations to physician and community groups on the importance of breast imaging and diagnosis in the early detection of breast cancer.  A longtime member of the American Cancer Society in NY, Pa and NJ, she earned the Outstanding Cancer Liaison Physician Award from the American College of Surgeons for her work in coordinating Society programs with hospital cancer services.

A dedicated breast imager for almost 40 years, she has held positions as Director of Breast Imaging at multiple university and teaching community hospital systems, spearheading the adoption of digital and 3D mammography at Long Island's first comprehensive breast center at the CHS Health System Eastern Long Island Division.  A member of the International Digital Mammography Development Group, and as one of 52 international Principal Investigators in the ACRIN D-Mist Trial, she helped establish the superiority of digital imaging for women with dense breast tissue.  She has lectured and published on topics of digital breast imaging, breast ultrasound (she serves on the BUAP committee for the ACR, helping to maintain the highest quality standards in the performance of breast ultrasound exams) and minimally invasive breast biopsies.  She is currently involved in a multidisciplinary clinical trial at Stony Brook assessing tissue responses of certain tumors being treated with radiation therapy.

Dr. Staiger has strong roots here in Suffolk County, with her brothers having attended Stony Brook University and her parents benefitting from the excellent treatment at the Medical Center. In her spare time, she loves reading, the theatre, gardening and swimming in Long Island Sound.