7 Quick Questions With Diagnostic Radiologist Thomas Battey, MD

July 6, 2026

Thomas Battey, MD, is a UVA Health diagnostic radiologist. He specializes in heart imaging, including cardiac CT and MRI, as well as vascular imaging and thoracic radiography and CT.

Meet a UVA Health Diagnostic Radiologist

Get to know more about Battey and his clinical approach in these 7 quick questions.

1. What has most inspired and shaped your approach to patient care?

When I was doing research before medical school, one of my jobs was genetics work. In that process, you’re not working with people. It's tubes of blood and numbers, but each of those is a person really. One of the challenges in radiology is that we don't have a lot of direct face-to-face contact, but that medical school experience has really stuck with me. I always remember that there is a person on the other end of the scan. What I'm seeing are different shades of gray and black and white on the screen, but what's really there is a person.

I tell residents and medical students that what they say really matters because it dictates what will happen to this person, whether that is nothing or surgery or the whole range in between. For me, just keeping the patient in the center of what I do is really important.

2. What's your favorite part of your job?

Everything is a puzzle. People usually don't order imaging when they know what's going on. I find it really rewarding to be the person that helps to put all of that together. I am hopeful that it helps a lot of people, but also it is really intellectually stimulating and satisfying because no two scans are the same. The other thing I really love about my job is getting to teach and help the next generation of radiologists.

3. What’s your biggest fear as a patient?

I'm a data person and I hate uncertainty. My wife and I have a three and a half year old daughter. Our daughter arrived unexpectedly early, and that was not our plan. Our daughter spent a week in the NICU here, and in those early moments of her life, there was a lot of uncertainty. Thankfully, everything went great and the NICU here is incredible.

4. What do you do for stress relief?

I ride bikes. It's great to live in Charlottesville. We have an incredible local trail system.

5. Dogs or cats?

Dogs. We have a 9-year-old lab shepherd mix.

6. Last movie you watched? Thumbs up or down?

I watched Jason Bourne last night. I'm a sucker for either great or terrible action movies. That was the fourth or fifth one in the series, and objectively, it was a bad movie, but I enjoyed it.

7. Best advice you've ever heard?

The best advice came from my parents first, and then I kept hearing it from different people throughout my life. It’s to always ask why. In radiology, sometimes the answer that is most obvious is not the right one. When you're looking at a complicated case or a complex set of images, it is important to really take a step back and ask yourself why this is happening and what's going on.