Reston, Va. — The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), an international scientific and medical organization, recognized contributions to the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging during its 2016 Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif. Several awards ceremonies were held to recognize the valuable role SNMMI members play in advancing the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, cancer and neurological conditions.

SNMMI Presidential Distinguished Service Award

This year, two SNMMI Presidential Distinguished Service Awards were given in recognition of continual dedication to the society. They were presented to Peter Herscovitch MD, FACP, FRCPC, FSNMMI, director of the PET Department at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., and to Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, professor of radiology and chairman of the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
A past president of SNMMI, Herscovitch has served at the NIH Clinical Center since 1987. He was named chief of the PET section that year and in 2005 was appointed director of the PET department. Prior to his career at NIH, Herscovitch was an attending physician at Barnes Hospital and an instructor and assistant professor of neurology and radiology at Washington University School of Medicine, both in St. Louis, Mo. An SNMMI member since 1983, Herscovitch has been involved in many councils, committees, task forces and other groups. He chaired SNMMI’s Scientific Program Committee, served on the SNMMI Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation board of directors, and was a member of the Ethics and Education committees.

Minoshima is vice president-elect of SNMMI. He earned his MD and PhD from Chiba University School of Medicine in Japan. Prior to his position at the University of Utah, he served on the faculty of the University of Michigan, as well as the University of Washington, where he was also vice chair for research in the Department of Radiology. Minoshima has published seminal research studies concerning neurodegenerative diseases and other brain disorders using innovative imaging technology. His contributions to the field include discovery of the posterior cingulate abnormality in Alzheimer’s disease and invention and worldwide dissemination of diagnostic statistical mapping technology for molecular brain imaging. Minoshima served as president of the SNMMI Brain Imaging Council and currently serves as chair of the SNMMI Scientific Program Committee.

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