At the end of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) conference, Dr. Hossein Jadvar, president, will be succeeded by Sally W. Schwarz, research associate professor and director of radiopharmaceutical production at the Washington School of Medicine. He spent some time with HCB News to discuss the achievements that were made this past year and his plans for the future.
“We want nuclear medicine to be a quality practice regardless of where it is delivered — from an academic teaching center to a rural hospital — so patients get the best treatment options,” he told HCB News.
He cited three areas of work that yielded results since the last annual meeting a year ago in Baltimore, when he was installed as the new president. These included:
- Established a new SNMMI Therapy Center of Excellence to focus on issues related to targeted radionuclide therapy. This also include theranostics, which relies on the same nuclear medicine agents to both identify and treat cancers in patients.
- Better defined training and credentialing pathways for physicians who seek to practice in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
- Continued work on SNMMI’s appropriate use criteria.
He also cited his visits to 12 countries to promote global collaborations with colleagues worldwide.
“No matter where I went, our colleagues overseas look up to the SNMMI as the leader in the field,” said Jadvar. “We have to do the best we can to deliver on that expectation.”
He noted that ten percent of the SNMMI membership, thirty percent of conference attendees, and 60 percent of clinical abstract presentations for the conference originated from outside North America.
He also mentioned that he was pleased that the FDA approved two nuclear medicine agents for imaging patients with prostate and neuroendocrine cancers right before the meeting started.
Approximately 6,000 people were in attendance at the 2016 SNMMI conference, which is about 1,000 more than last year in Baltimore.
Jadvar holds degrees in chemical, biomedical and computer engineering, as well as in public health, business administration and medicine. He plans to remain active in SNMMI.
“I truly enjoyed it,” said Jadvar of his time as president. “It was a great life experience. I learned a lot and I got to make many new friends and meet many new colleagues.”