Reston, VA — Cathy Sue Cutler, PhD, FSNMMI, director of the medical isotope research and production program at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, has been named as vice president-elect for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2022 Annual Meeting, held June 11-14.

Securing appropriate funding for nuclear medicine services and providers will be a top priority for Cutler during her term. “A major challenge facing our field is the lack of sufficient funding,” she noted. “This has many downstream impacts, including deterring industry investment, lack of access to patients particularly underserved populations, and talent leaving the field for other careers.”

Cutler also plans to generate training and education opportunities for SNMMI members, as well as other medical practitioners, on applications of theranostics for personalized medicine. In addition, she will focus on educating the public on the value nuclear medicine brings to clinical practice.
Cutler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, where she also completed a post-doctorate in analytical chemistry. She spent 17 years, first as a research scientist and then as a professor, at the Missouri University Research Reactor center. During this time Cutler also served as a faculty member at the university’s Nuclear Sciences and Engineering Institute.

An active SNMMI member, Cutler has served the society in many capacities. She has held positions as SNMMI secretary/treasurer and as president of the SNMMI Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation. Cutler has chaired the Advocacy Domain within SNMMI’s Value Initiative, the Committee on Government Relations, and the Committee on Radiopharmaceuticals and has participated in many other committees, such as the Committee on Ethics, the Women in Nuclear Medicine Committee, and the Scientific Program Committee. During her time in Missouri, Cutler was an active participant in the Missouri Valley Chapter of SNMMI.

Cutler is a member of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, and the American Chemical Association. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and was previously a member of the Executive Committee for the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute, a member of the Executive Committee of International Association of Radiopharmacology, and a member of the Steering Committee for the American Association of Cancer Research Chemistry in Cancer Research Group. Cutler also served as an expert on the United States Pharmacopeia panel to rewrite monographs 821, 1821 and 1823.

More People on the Move