Thomas K. Pilgram, Ph.D. is an Instructor of Radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine. Dr. Pilgram has 25 years experience in the use of statistics to further scientific research. He has worked in a variety of fields, including anthropology, archaeology, and wildlife biology, but the bulk of his experience has been in radiology research. He has held teaching positions at United States International University – Africa, University of California, Berkeley, and Washington University in Saint Louis, and has been on the faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine for the last 15 years.

Dr. Pilgram’s biostatistical work at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology covers a wide range of topics, but recently has been concentrated in three areas with long-term funding: the relationship between orthosis design and plantar pressure in the diabetic foot, monitoring reader performance in the National Lung Screening Trial, and predicting the stability of coronary plaque. In addition to these large projects, Dr. Pilgram’s consulting work within the Institute contributes to a number of smaller projects. These include: interventional radiology, typically using survival analysis to measure the success of procedures, children’s craniofacial surgery, evaluating the success of techniques designed to correct birth defects, and electronic radiology, helping determine the requirements of diagnostically useful image display and transmission techniques. One of his specialties is small-sample statistics, which is especially useful in pilot studies.

1. Tang D, Yang C, Zheng J, Woodard, PK, Saffitz JE, Sicard GA, Pilgram TK, Yuan C. Sensitivity analysis of 3D MRI-based models for atherosclerotic plaques. In: Hamza MH, ed. Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Biomechanics. Anaheim, Ca: ACTA Press, 2004; 97-100.
2. Hong C, Pilgram TK, Zhu F, Bae, KT. Coronary artery calcification: effect of size of field of view on multi-detector row CT measurements. Radiology 2004; 233:281-285.
3. Becker DB, Grames LM, Pilgram T, Kane AA, Marsh JL. The effect of timing of surgery for velopharyngeal dysfunction on speech. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery 2004; 15:804-809.
4. Marshall F, Dale D, Pilgram T. Delayed-return hunter-gatherers in Africa? Historic perspectives from the Okiek and archaeological perspectives from the Kansyore. In Crothers GM, ed. Hunters and Gatherers in Theory and Archaeology: Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional Paper No. 31; 2004.
5. Becker DB, Pilgram T, Marty-Grames L, Govier DP, Marsh JL, Kane AA. Accuracy in identification of patients with 22q11.2 deletion by likely care providers using facial photographs. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2004; 114:1367-72.
6. Brown DB, Fundakowski CE, Lisker-Melman M, Crippin JS, Pilgram TK, Chapman W, Darcy MD. Comparison of MELD and Child-Pugh scores to predict survival after chemoembolization of hepatocellular carcinoma. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2004; 15:1209-1218.
7. Brown DB, Papadouris DC, Davis RV Jr, Vedantham S, Pilgram TK. Power injection of microcatheters: an in vitro comparison. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2005; 16:101-106.
8. Hong C, Leawoods JC, Yablonskiy DA, Leyendecker JR, Bae KT, Pilgram TK, Woodard PK, Conradi MS, Zheng J. Feasibility of combining MR perfusion, angiography, and 3He ventilation imaging for evaluation of lung function in a porcine model. Academic Radiology 2005; 12:202-209.
9. Mercer Boulton NR, Smith KE, Pilgram TK, Mueller MJ, Bae KT. Computed tomography to visualize and quantify the plantar aponeurosis and flexor hallucis longus tendon in the diabetic foot. Clinical Biomechanics 2005; 20:540-546.
10. Becker DB, Petersen JD, Kane AA, Cradock MM, Pilgram TK, Marsh JL. Speech, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes in nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 2005; 116:400-407.
11. Hong C, Zhu F, Du D, Pilgram TK, Sicard GA, Bae, KT. Coronary artery calcification and risk factors for atherosclerosis in patients with venous thromboembolism. Athersclerosis 2005; 183:169-174.
12. Glaiberman CB, Pilgram TK, Brown DB. Patient factors affecting thermal lesion size with an impedance-based radiofrequency ablation system. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2005; 16:1341-1348.
13. Zheng J, El Naqa I, Rowold FE, Pilgram TK, Woodard PK, Saffitz JE, Tang D. Quantitative assessment of coronary artery plaque vulnerability by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and computational biomechanics: a pilot study ex vivo. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2005; 54:1360-1368.
14. Brown DB, Pilgram TK, Darcy MD, Fundakowski CE, Lisker-Melman M, Chapman WC, Crippen JS. Hepatic arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of survival rates with different embolic agents. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2005; 16:1661-1666.
15. Tang D, Yang C, Zheng J, Woodard PK, Saffitz JE, Sicard GA, Pilgram TK, Yuan C. Quantifying effects of plaque structure and material properties on stress distributions in human atherosclerotic plaques using 3D FSI models. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 2005; 127:1185-1194.
16. Singh AK, Pilgram TK, Gilula LA. Osteoporotic compression fractures: outcomes after single- versus multiple-level percutaneous vertebroplasty. Radiology 2006; 238:211-220.
17. Vesely TM, Pilgram TK. Angioplasty balloon inflation pressures during treatment of hemodialysis graft-related stenoses. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2006; 17:623-628.
18. Hovsepian DM, Mandava A, Pilgram TK, Holder AP, Wong V, Chan P, Patel T. Comparison of adjunctive use of Rofecoxib versus Ibuprofen in the management of pain after uterine artery embolization. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 2006; 17:665-670.
19. Crall TS, Gilula LA, Kim YJ, Cho Y, Pilgram T, Riew KD. The diagnostic effect of needle tip positions in selective lumbar nerve blocks: an analysis of 1202 injections. Spine 2006; 31:920-922.
20. Mueller MJ, Lott DJ, Hastings MK, Commean PK, Smith KE, Pilgram TK. Efficacy and mechanism of orthotic devices to unload metatarsal heads in people with diabetes and a history of plantar ulcers. Physical Therapy 2006; 86:833-842.