Alan Packard, PhD, has been elected 2020-21 president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). Packard is associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, director of radiopharmaceutical research and a senior research associate in nuclear medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The new slate of officers was introduced during the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting on July 11-14.
“SNMMI’s strength comes from its breadth of membership, with physicians, scientists and technologists working together to advance nuclear medicine and molecular imaging in order to provide patients with the best possible care,” Packard notes. “This is a very exciting time for the field of nuclear medicine, and as president of SNMMI, I look forward to working with my fellow members to build upon recent breakthroughs in the field, especially in the area of theranostics, and to demonstrating the value of nuclear medicine to those outside our field.”
His overall goal for the coming year is to enhance the value of SNMMI membership. He will accomplish this by working to enhance the society’s core member benefits—the SNMMI Annual Meeting, continuing education, and The Journal of Nuclear Medicine—and by strengthening the society and nuclear medicine more broadly through the SNMMI Value Initiative, SNMMI’s strategic vision for working with industry and other partners to demonstrate the crucial role of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to the medical community, regulators, patients, and the public.
Packard’s laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital is engaged in the development of radiolabeled proteins for multiple applications, including cancer imaging and therapy, and 18F-labeled small molecules for myocardial perfusion imaging. The focus of the cancer program is on developing copper-64 (64Cu)- and zirconium-89 (89Zr)-labeled antibodies that can be used to noninvasively evaluate disease status, as well as on developing antibodies labeled with therapeutic radionuclides, such as lutetium-177 (177Lu) and copper-67 (67Cu), that can be used to treat cancer.
A longtime SNMMI member, Packard has served on the society’s board of directors. He is currently chair of the education committee and has chaired and served on many committees and task forces in past years. He is a member of the society’s radiopharmaceutical science council and Center for Molecular Imaging, Innovation and Translation. He is also an active member of the American Chemical Society and the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences. Packard has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of New Hampshire and a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Colorado State University.
Other SNMMI officers elected for 2020-21 are Richard L. Wahl, MD, St. Louis, Missouri, as president-elect and Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM, FACR, as vice president-elect. SNMMI Technologist Section officers for 2020-21 are Tina M. Buehner, MS, CNMT, NMTCB(CT)(RS), RT(N)(CT), FSNMMI-TS, as SNMMI-TS president and Dusty M. York, MAEd, CNMT, PET, ARRT(N)(CT), as president-elect.
