Richard L. Wahl, MD, has been elected 2021-22 president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). Wahl is the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor and head of radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, director of the university’s Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, and professor of radiation oncology. SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, held earlier this month.
“Nuclear medicine is undergoing a renaissance as a precision medicine specialty, with new radiopharmaceuticals, theranostics, and instrumentation to elucidate biology and benefit patients,” Wahl says. In his years in office, he plans to focus on ensuring patient access to nuclear medicine diagnostics and therapeutics, enhancing the diversity and number of professionals working in nuclear medicine, and fostering discovery and innovation in nuclear medicine science.
After graduating from Washington University School of Medicine, Wahl interned at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. He returned to Washington University in 1979 for training in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. He accepted his first faculty appointment at the University of Michigan in 1983. From there, Wahl moved to Johns Hopkins University in 2000, where he was the inaugural Henry N. Wagner Jr., MD, professor and director of the Division of Nuclear Medicine; vice chair for technology and new business development in the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences; and professor of oncology. He accepted his current appointment at Washington University in 2014.
A longtime SNMMI member, Wahl currently serves as the chair of the research and discovery domain for the society’s Value Initiative. He has served on the editorial board of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine for many years. He is also a member of several councils and centers of excellence at the society, as well as the Missouri Valley Chapter.
Moreover, Wahl is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians and the National Academy of Medicine and has received honors from multiple organizations. He holds 18 patents and has published more than 460 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts. Also, he is a co-inventor of several FDA-approved theranostic drugs and devices.
Other SNMMI officers elected for 2021-22 are Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM, FACR, New York, New York, as president-elect and Helen Nadel, MD, FRCPC, as vice president-elect. SNMMI Technologist Section officers for 2021-22 are Dusty York, MAEd, CNMT, PET, ARRT(N)(CT), Chattanooga, TN, as president and Krystle W. Glasgow, MIS, CNMT, NMTCB(CT), NMAA, FSNMMI-TS, Birmingham, Ala., as president-elect.
