The Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) recently awarded $175,000 in research grants at its 56th Annual Meeting, June 13-27. The grants, conveyed through the SNM Education and Research Foundation recognize and support the work of promising researchers.

Robert W. Atcher, PhD, MBA, past SNM president and current chair of the SNM awards committee, said, "Advancing molecular imaging and therapy is an essential step in achieving more accurate and timely diagnoses; SNM is proud to support research that will provide physicians with better tools to understand disease and monitor treatments."

Covering two years, the Molecular Imaging Research Grant for Junior Medical Faculty is given to a junior faculty member performing academic research for diagnostic or therapeutic applications of molecular imaging. Laura L. Horky, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA received the award for her research using FLT-PET and FET-PET for the early assessment of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive type of brain tumor.

A $60,000 two-year award for the Postdoctoral Molecular Imaging Scholar Program supporting a postdoctoral fellow to promote integration of molecular imaging into research activity, was given to Changquing Li, PhD, University of California, Davis. His research supports the simultaneous use of PET and optical imaging.

The SNM/Covidien Seed Grant in Nuclear Medicine Research awards $25,000 to a researcher conducting a pilot project that shows potential for future support from organizations. Rama Pichika, PhD, University of California, San Diego, received the award for molecular imaging of early Alzheimer's disease.

Various other grants were also awarded honoring molecular imaging research including the areas of breast and prostate cancer, multimodality imaging of leukocytes and work in revascularization after radiation.

According to Alexander J.B. McEwan, MD, past president and former chair of the award committee, the awards encourage young clinicians by providing necessary funding and motivation to excel. "We appreciate the ongoing support of individual donors, which paves the way for the next generation of researchers to further improve medical diagnosis and therapy," said McEwan.

The SNM is committed to advocating awareness of molecular imaging and best practices in patient care. The Society has more than 17,000 members worldwide.