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Heather Jacene, MD, Named President-Elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

NEW ORLEANS (June 24, 2025)—Heather Jacene, MD, assistant chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, clinical director of Nuclear Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and associate professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, has been named president-elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2025 Annual Meeting, held June 21-24 in New Orleans.

“As president-elect, my primary goal will be to strengthen SNMMI as a valuable resource for all members, from advancing the field's underlying basic science to providing excellent evidence-based patient care,” stated Jacene. “I am committed to championing nuclear medicine’s future through active listening, creative thinking, and bringing people and industries together to achieve common goals.”

Jacene plans to create new opportunities for members to participate actively in SNMMI and conduct multidisciplinary collaborations. She will also raise awareness of nuclear medicine’s value to clinical colleagues and patients and will be laser-focused on breaking down barriers to radiopharmaceutical availability, reimbursement, affordability, and funding. 

An active SNMMI member, Jacene has been involved in many aspects of the organization. As Scientific Program Committee Chair, she has spearheaded “reimagining” the Annual Meeting, resulting in increased participation, networking, and innovation. She served as Quality of Practice Domain Chair for the SNMMI Value Initiative, and she helped develop the successful Radiopharmaceutical Centers of Excellence Program, ensuring quality delivery of radiopharmaceutical therapy. In addition to her service to SNMMI, Jacene also served as a director on the American Board of Nuclear Medicine.  

Jacene’s research focuses on using FDG-PET/CT and other novel tracers for characterizing and monitoring response of cancer to therapy as well as the use of radiopharmaceutical therapy. She has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, as well as reviews and book chapters.

Other SNMMI officers elected for 2025-26 are Jean-Luc C. Urbain, MD, PhD, FASNC, Buffalo, New York, as president and Gary Ulaner, MD, PhD, FSNMMI, Laguna Hills, California, as vice president-elect. SNMMI Technologist Section officers for 2025-26 are Cybil Nielsen, MBA, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, Long Beach, Mississippi, as president and Shannon Youngblood, EdD, MSRS, CNMT, RT(CT), Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, as president-elect.

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About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit snmmi.org.