With visions of “cowboys, ranches, and such,” Ralph Mason, Ph.D., came to UT Southwestern from Churchill College in Cambridge, England. His plan: to complete a two-year postdoctoral program, then move on.

That was 38 years ago. On Dec. 31, he retired from the Department of Radiology and was appointed Professor Emeritus at the institution he thought he’d have left long ago. “One major part of me staying here so long has been the can-do attitude and the innovation,” Dr. Mason said.

Those gifts he didn’t anticipate honed a drive in him, one that led to this question: “Can I do something to improve mankind?”

He could, and he did. The former Director of UT Southwestern’s Cancer Imaging Program – among many roles he has held – Dr. Mason took up what he called “the cancer challenge,” in large part to honor the legacy of his best friend, who died of osteosarcoma shortly after their college graduation.

Over the decades, Dr. Mason kept that resolve in countless ways. The project he is proudest of involveds MRI to identify oxygen levels in tumors, thus potentially personalizing radiation treatment for cancer patients. The research included implementing BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent) and TOLD (tissue oxygen level dependent) techniques. In these, patients undergoing an MRI exam were challenged with pure oxygen, and the signal response resulting from the air switch revealed the extent of hypoxia – a condition in which tissues are deprived of sufficient oxygen.

“I was so lucky,” Dr. Mason said of joining UT Southwestern. “Two Professors gave me carte blanche. They told me, ‘Do what you’re interested in.’ That’s the beauty of UT Southwestern, one of many things that kept me here: the spirit of ‘If I can help you, I will.’ We help each other.”

“We” comes up frequently when talking to Dr. Mason – whether interacting with research colleagues, fellow educators, or scientists.

Martin Pomper, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern, has known of Dr. Mason’s work for 20 years, beginning with the federally funded Small Animal Imaging Resource Program they each worked on.

“Ralph has always been a leader in preclinical imaging, with the added touch of being highly collaborative,” Dr. Pomper said. “He’s served on many National Institutes of Health study sections and has hundreds of publications and conference proceedings.” Both he and Dr. Mason are members of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Mason said he has an innate desire to succeed. “The passion has to be intrinsic. A lot of science doesn’t work the way you hope it does, but if it doesn’t, sometimes you find something more exciting than what you were originally looking for,” he said.

In the early days of his career, “I would be there at midnight,” he said. “I always told my teams, ‘If you want to be a scientist, you have to love it. It has to be your life.’ I’d be on a hike and thinking about research. In the shower, I’d be thinking about research.”

Dr. Mason met his wife, Joanne, on a Sierra Club hike and they’ve raised two engineer daughters who share their parents’ love for the outdoors. His mantra is: “Work hard, play hard.”

He combined the two last October, not long after he announced his retirement. After organizing a workshop at an American Chemical Society conference in Waco, Texas, the scientist went on a hilly, heart-pumping bike ride. Afterward, pulling into a parking lot, he passed out. A nurse who happened to be there called 911. A brain scan at a nearby hospital showed nothing unusual, so he was released, but had three broken ribs.

At home though, Dr. Mason just didn’t feel like himself. He mentioned his symptoms to a cardiologist colleague he saw on campus. Testing at UTSW indicated Dr. Mason had severe aortic valve stenosis.

On Jan. 7, Dr. Mason underwent a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement. During the two-hour surgery, performed by Neelan Doolabh, M.D., Director of Minimally Invasive Heart Valve Surgery and Associate Professor of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery at UTSW, his dysfunctional valve was replaced with an aortic valve made of pericardial ox tissue.

Surgery and the subsequent cardiac physical therapy weren’t in his plans for the first year of retirement. But his outlook is optimistic, and Dr. Mason is grateful for so much: his family, his colleagues, and the opportunity to work with people who share his unwavering wonder of the world of science.

Retirement, understandably, will take some adjustment. Already, he said, he most misses “the thrill of discovery.”

But he has trails to hike, mountains to climb, hills to cycle, and advice to give those following him at the place he will never leave behind.

“Here at UT Southwestern, there’s incredible growth,” Dr. Mason said. “New colleagues are coming in. There’s a spirit of adventure, that we’ll get this done.”