James J. Conway, MD, a distinguished pioneer in pediatric nuclear medicine and past president of the SNM, passed away on September 12, 2024, at the age of 91 in Glenview, IL. He was surrounded by family and loved ones.
Conway spent his 40-year career at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago and was chair of the Nuclear Medicine Department. For many years, he was deeply involved in SNM, particularly in the Central Chapter. He served as the chapter’s president and founded its Technologist Section. At the national level, Conway held many positions before becoming president in 1994.
His term as president was a consequential one. He oversaw the successful relocation of the SNMMI office from New York City to Reston, VA, which better positioned the organization to advocate at the federal level for nuclear medicine professionals and patients. At the 1995 Mid-Winter Meeting, the SNM Board of Directors approved nuclear medicine procedure guidelines for the first time in history; this opened the door for nuclear medicine procedures to be covered under many HMO plans. He founded the Pediatric Nuclear Medicine Council within SNM and is considered by many to be the “father” of the pediatric nuclear medicine subspecialty.
After his term at SNM, Conway continued to influence the nuclear medicine community, holding positions at the American College of Nuclear Medicine, the FDA Radiopharmaceutical Drug Advisory Committee, the World Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology, the Radiological Society of North America, and the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, among others.
Services will be held on Saturday, September 28, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview. More information can be found here.