June 28, 2024
Reston, Virginia—Richard Wahl, MD, professor at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, has been named as the 2024 Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award. Wahl was presented the award by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) at its 2024 Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award recognizes an individual who has made transformative impact in the field and elevated the value of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. Award recipients will have initiated, developed, and successfully implemented unique and significant transformative value within the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
Throughout his career, Wahl has been extensively involved in the development of oncologic PET and PET/CT imaging and was a leader in developing the first FDA approved radioimmunotherapies of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is a co-inventor of several FDA-approved theranostic drugs and devices and is on the forefront of advances in quantitative imaging. Wahl also founded the SNMMI Mars Shot Fund, an initiative that aims to revolutionize the future of patient care through groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
“Dr. Wahl is a true visionary in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging,” said Virginia Pappas, chief executive officer of SNMMI. “As a physician scientist, his research has helped pave the way for clinical advances in diagnosing cancer and other diseases. What’s more, his unwavering dedication to eliminating barriers has helped countless patients to access these powerful diagnostic tools and therapies.”
Wahl received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine and interned at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine. He returned to Washington University for training in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. Wahl accepted his first faculty appointment at the University of Michigan and then moved to Johns Hopkins University, 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. Wahl later returned to Washington University School of Medicine and served as director of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology for nearly a decade.
A longtime SNMMI member, Wahl has served in many leadership positions, including as president from 2021-2022. He is a member of several SNMMI councils and centers of excellence, as well as the Missouri Valley Chapter. Wahl was also instrumental in creating the SNMMI AI task force and the radiopharmaceutical centers of excellence program and has served on the editorial board of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine for many years.
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, has published more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and is the primary author of several textbooks. He has served on the coordinating committee of the Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA) of the Radiological Society of North America and has been a lead investigator in the Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN) of the National Institutes of Health.
His awards include a U.S. Department of Energy Achievement Award; the de Hevesy, Tetalman, Berson and Yalow awards and two Alavi-Mandel awards from SNMMI; the Academy of Molecular Imaging’s Distinguished Scientist Award; and the Hounsfield Award from the Society of Body Computed Tomography. He has presented many named lectureships throughout the world, including the Eugene P. Pendergrass New Horizons Lecture at the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting and the Marie Curie Lecture at the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Annual Meeting.
“I am honored to be chosen as the recipient of this year’s Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award,” said Wahl. “It is satisfying to know that my contributions to the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging have impacted the way that we diagnose and treat patients. As the Mars Shot Fund continues to push the boundaries of science, I look forward to more advances that will revolutionize healthcare through precision nuclear medicine.”
The Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership award was named for Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, SNMMI past president, and Virginia Pappas, CAE, SNMMI chief executive officer. In 2017, Minoshima and Pappas launched the SNMMI Value Initiative, a strategic vision and roadmap to advance the crucial role of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging to the medical community, regulators, patients, and the public. Through the Value Initiative, the SNMMI was able to change the dynamics of the field, and the Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award recognizes individuals who do the same.
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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 and molecular imaging, vital elements of precision medicine that allow diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes.
SNMMI’s members set the standard for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine practice by creating guidelines, sharing information through journals and meetings and leading advocacy on key issues that affect molecular imaging and therapy research and practice. For more information, visit www.snmmi.org.