Dr. Hossein Jadvar
Q&A with Dr. Hossein Jadvar, president of SNMMI
June 22, 2015
by Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor
Three years ago, the Society of Nuclear Medicine grew. Or at least their name did. It was three years ago that the society’s membership voted to add molecular imaging to the name, to create the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging or SNMMI. Although that chapter is in the past and most people have adjusted to the lengthier name, there are still plenty of challenges and opportunities for growth in the society’s future. HealthCare Business News spoke with SNMMI’s current president, Dr. Hossein Jadvar, to learn a little more about the individual as well as the work going on at SNMMI.
HCBN: What inspired you to get involved in medicine?
HJ: I was interested in science and technology starting back in high school. I did experiments and built radios and things like that. I was born in Tehran, Iran, and the educational system there is basically structured so that you have to make your career decision early in high school.
It was very clear to me that I wanted to be a physician. At the same time, I wanted to have a science degree too. When I graduated from high school in 1978 at the age of 17, the revolution occurred and I left the country to continue my education in the United States. I went to college here and didn’t go into the M.D. side first, because it was difficult to have the funds to go into it right away. I obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering and then continued in biomedical engineering because that’s when computers were really first being introduced, and I was interested to learn how that new technology could be applied to medicine.
I finished with a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters in biomedical engineering and computer engineering – specific to cardiology. And I received nine patents for my work. When I obtained my Ph.D. degree in 1988, I also received permanent residency through my mother. I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1995. After receiving my permanent residency in 1988 though, I immediately applied to medical school at the University of Chicago.
I wanted to stay in Chicago because I was involved in a small medical technology company there. I finished at the University of Chicago in 1993 and when time for residency came, I decided on medical imaging. I really liked what was involved with medical imaging, with making diagnosis, and having a real impact, because many physicians look at what’s going on, to really decide what’s needing to go on next – if a treatment is working for example. I applied to radiology programs and was lucky to have my first choice, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for an internship in internal medicine, followed by a residency in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at Stanford.
Following that, I left for Boston for a year of clinical fellowship training at Harvard Medical School Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine.
HCBN: How did you get involved and get to where you are today in SNMMI?
HJ: I was interested in SNMMI (SNM at the time) because it’s the premier and largest international organization for advocacy, education, and collaboration in nuclear medicine. I’ve been a member since my residency. After I joined, I got involved in many facets. I was in the House of Delegates to start. I was nominated to be at that level through my chapter. I went on to be elected to the board of directors and became president of the PET Center of Excellence and Chair of Committee on Publications among many other activities.
HCBN: What do you hope to accomplish during your time as president?
HJ: The actual tenure is really almost four years, but as president only one year. During my time though, I hope that we can accomplish at least one or two pivotal things. The first, is the development of appropriate use criteria to tie into evidence-based medicine. By 2017, everything that is ordered should be based on some type of evidence that supports its appropriateness. We need to get that done. November 2015 is the deadline to get things in place, and that’s right in the middle of my presidency, so having those AUCs prepared is something I am working toward. My goal is to shepherd the process to make sure we get it done in a timely manner.
The second thing I’m hoping to accomplish is related to the proposed new center for therapy, The SNMMI Therapy Center of Excellence. My hope is to get it approved by the board and then bring the focus on to targeted radioisotope therapy. I think this new center will really help with advocacy.
HCBN: As president, what unique experience and perspective do you bring to the table?
HJ: I’m a physician scientist, so I’ve seen the clinical side, but also have experience with the science side. I’m a translational scientist, so the goal of my own research has been to try to help to bring new agents from the laboratory to the bedside. I understand the challenges both from running the clinical trial to making sure that anything showing promising results can benefit the patient eventually. My other training is in public health at Harvard and business administration at the University of Southern California (where I am a tenured associate professor in radiology with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering), so I hope it helps me to be in a good position to lead the society.
HCBN: What are the biggest challenges facing SNMMI members today?
HJ: There are a few major challenges, but also major opportunities. The first I mentioned before, with working to get evidence-based medicine in place. We need it in order to make sure new worthwhile agents being developed eventually make it to the clinic. So that’s something we need to work on, to get them there in a timely manner with the appropriate level of reimbursement. We also need to work to ensure stakeholders know the value of nuclear medicine. All of that falls under the umbrella of sustainability of the field. We need to demonstrate the value and quality and the impact of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to all stakeholders.
HCBN: Are there any recent advancements in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging you’re especially excited about?
HJ: There are a lot of new things almost every day. My own research is in prostate cancer and there are a lot of new agents. I think in a short period of time, we’ll see new things not just in imaging, but in therapy. Theranostics is exciting. PET/MR is exciting. We’re at the beginning of this, but the society is already very much involved. Also exciting are all the new agents for brain, such as amyloid imaging. Although they’re not yet reimbursed by CMS, I think that new pipeline will continue.
HCBN: How do you think the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging field will have changed 10 years from now?
HJ: I feel I have to start by saying it’s always dangerous to predict. But I think the combination of biology, chemistry, physics and the art and science of medicine makes nuclear medicine and molecular imaging among the most exciting fields in medicine. Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging can contribute significantly to diagnostics, but also to targeted therapy. It’s a very interesting field, so making sure everyone knows about the value and place of nuclear medicine will impact where the future goes. I think this value needs to be demonstrated not only to us, but to the referring physicians and patients and their advocates. If all of these things we’re working on happen, I feel the future will be quite bright, because the fundamentals are all there.
HCBN: What inspired you to get involved in medicine?
HJ: I was interested in science and technology starting back in high school. I did experiments and built radios and things like that. I was born in Tehran, Iran, and the educational system there is basically structured so that you have to make your career decision early in high school.
It was very clear to me that I wanted to be a physician. At the same time, I wanted to have a science degree too. When I graduated from high school in 1978 at the age of 17, the revolution occurred and I left the country to continue my education in the United States. I went to college here and didn’t go into the M.D. side first, because it was difficult to have the funds to go into it right away. I obtained a B.S. in chemical engineering and then continued in biomedical engineering because that’s when computers were really first being introduced, and I was interested to learn how that new technology could be applied to medicine.
I finished with a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters in biomedical engineering and computer engineering – specific to cardiology. And I received nine patents for my work. When I obtained my Ph.D. degree in 1988, I also received permanent residency through my mother. I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1995. After receiving my permanent residency in 1988 though, I immediately applied to medical school at the University of Chicago.
I wanted to stay in Chicago because I was involved in a small medical technology company there. I finished at the University of Chicago in 1993 and when time for residency came, I decided on medical imaging. I really liked what was involved with medical imaging, with making diagnosis, and having a real impact, because many physicians look at what’s going on, to really decide what’s needing to go on next – if a treatment is working for example. I applied to radiology programs and was lucky to have my first choice, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) for an internship in internal medicine, followed by a residency in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine at Stanford.
Following that, I left for Boston for a year of clinical fellowship training at Harvard Medical School Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine.
HCBN: How did you get involved and get to where you are today in SNMMI?
HJ: I was interested in SNMMI (SNM at the time) because it’s the premier and largest international organization for advocacy, education, and collaboration in nuclear medicine. I’ve been a member since my residency. After I joined, I got involved in many facets. I was in the House of Delegates to start. I was nominated to be at that level through my chapter. I went on to be elected to the board of directors and became president of the PET Center of Excellence and Chair of Committee on Publications among many other activities.
HCBN: What do you hope to accomplish during your time as president?
HJ: The actual tenure is really almost four years, but as president only one year. During my time though, I hope that we can accomplish at least one or two pivotal things. The first, is the development of appropriate use criteria to tie into evidence-based medicine. By 2017, everything that is ordered should be based on some type of evidence that supports its appropriateness. We need to get that done. November 2015 is the deadline to get things in place, and that’s right in the middle of my presidency, so having those AUCs prepared is something I am working toward. My goal is to shepherd the process to make sure we get it done in a timely manner.
The second thing I’m hoping to accomplish is related to the proposed new center for therapy, The SNMMI Therapy Center of Excellence. My hope is to get it approved by the board and then bring the focus on to targeted radioisotope therapy. I think this new center will really help with advocacy.
HCBN: As president, what unique experience and perspective do you bring to the table?
HJ: I’m a physician scientist, so I’ve seen the clinical side, but also have experience with the science side. I’m a translational scientist, so the goal of my own research has been to try to help to bring new agents from the laboratory to the bedside. I understand the challenges both from running the clinical trial to making sure that anything showing promising results can benefit the patient eventually. My other training is in public health at Harvard and business administration at the University of Southern California (where I am a tenured associate professor in radiology with a joint appointment in biomedical engineering), so I hope it helps me to be in a good position to lead the society.
HCBN: What are the biggest challenges facing SNMMI members today?
HJ: There are a few major challenges, but also major opportunities. The first I mentioned before, with working to get evidence-based medicine in place. We need it in order to make sure new worthwhile agents being developed eventually make it to the clinic. So that’s something we need to work on, to get them there in a timely manner with the appropriate level of reimbursement. We also need to work to ensure stakeholders know the value of nuclear medicine. All of that falls under the umbrella of sustainability of the field. We need to demonstrate the value and quality and the impact of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to all stakeholders.
HCBN: Are there any recent advancements in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging you’re especially excited about?
HJ: There are a lot of new things almost every day. My own research is in prostate cancer and there are a lot of new agents. I think in a short period of time, we’ll see new things not just in imaging, but in therapy. Theranostics is exciting. PET/MR is exciting. We’re at the beginning of this, but the society is already very much involved. Also exciting are all the new agents for brain, such as amyloid imaging. Although they’re not yet reimbursed by CMS, I think that new pipeline will continue.
HCBN: How do you think the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging field will have changed 10 years from now?
HJ: I feel I have to start by saying it’s always dangerous to predict. But I think the combination of biology, chemistry, physics and the art and science of medicine makes nuclear medicine and molecular imaging among the most exciting fields in medicine. Nuclear medicine and molecular imaging can contribute significantly to diagnostics, but also to targeted therapy. It’s a very interesting field, so making sure everyone knows about the value and place of nuclear medicine will impact where the future goes. I think this value needs to be demonstrated not only to us, but to the referring physicians and patients and their advocates. If all of these things we’re working on happen, I feel the future will be quite bright, because the fundamentals are all there.