Novel Approaches To Molecular Imaging Required To Showcase At Annual Meeting

Main Category: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound;  Conferences
Article Date: 25 Sep 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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Attention scientific researchers: SNM invites you to present your molecular imaging studies -- especially those involving non-radioactive molecular imaging techniques and agents -- at the society's 55th Annual Meeting June 14-18, 2008, in New Orleans, La. SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, will showcase these studies in a new scientific investigation track called "Novel Approaches to Molecular Imaging."

"The emerging field of molecular imaging is a multidisciplinary endeavor that draws researchers from fields as diverse as biochemistry, organic chemistry, genetics, bioengineering, optics, medical imaging, medical physics, nuclear medicine and radiation oncology," said SNM President Alexander J. McEwan, who represents more than 16,000 molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals. "SNM -- with its mission to improve health care by advancing molecular imaging and therapy -- wants to spotlight today's work with imaging agents including contrast agents, nanoparticles, fluorescent dyes and proteins, microbubbles and techniques such as magnetic resonance, spectroscopy, ultrasound, multi-slice computed tomography and optical imaging of bioluminescence and fluorescence," added McEwan, professor and chair of the Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Alberta, and director of oncologic imaging at Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Canada.

"While the scope of nuclear medicine includes much of what is understood to be 'molecular imaging,' the field is much broader and includes non-radioactive molecular imaging agents and techniques and multimodality investigations," explained Martin G. Pomper, president of SNM's Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence. "The purpose of the 'Novel Approaches to Molecular Imaging' track is to offer a venue for such investigations to be presented and discussed," added the professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md.

"We're looking for the brightest researchers and cutting-edge science that show us the possibilities of molecular imaging with personalized medicine," explained Frederic H. Fahey, chair of the society's Scientific Program Committee and the director of nuclear medicine/PET physics at Children's Hospital Boston and associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School. Fahey encourages researchers to submit pre-clinical in vitro or in vivo and clinical studies.

The new scientific track will encompass cardiovascular, neuroscience, oncology, general specialties, instrumentation and data analysis topics and non-radioactive molecular imaging agents. The society's online abstract submitter opens Oct. 25 and closes Jan. 10, 2008. The submission deadline for technologist students is Feb. 7, 2008.

If you have any questions, please contact Heather Jacene, vice chair of the new track. For more information about SNM abstract tracks, categories and awards, go online to http://www.snm.org/abstracts.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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About SNM -- Advancing Molecular Imaging and Therapy

SNM is an international scientific and professional organization of more than 16,000 members dedicated to promoting the science, technology and practical applications of molecular and nuclear imaging to diagnose, manage and treat diseases in women, men and children. Founded more than 50 years ago, SNM continues to provide essential resources for health care practitioners and patients; publish the most prominent peer-reviewed journal in the field (Journal of Nuclear Medicine); host the premier annual meeting for medical imaging; sponsor research grants, fellowships and awards; and train physicians, technologists, scientists, physicists, chemists and radiopharmacists in state-of-the-art imaging procedures and advances. SNM members have introduced -- and continue to explore -- biological and technological innovations in medicine that noninvasively investigate the molecular basis of diseases, benefiting countless generations of patients. SNM is based in Reston, Va.; additional information can be found online at http://www.snm.org/.

Source: Maryann Verrillo
Society of Nuclear Medicine