Richard E. Carson, PhD, Receives SNMMI 2026 Paul C. Aebersold Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Nuclear Medicine Science

Los Angeles -- Richard E. Carson, PhD, has been named the 2026 recipient of the prestigious Paul C. Aebersold Award. Carson is professor of Biomedical Engineering and of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as emeritus director of the Yale PET Center. The award was announced by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) during its 2026 Annual Meeting.

Carson's work has contributed to significant advances in the understanding and application of nuclear medicine, specifically in the field of neuroscience and neuropsychiatric disorders. He was one of the pioneers in developing maximum likelihood expectation maximization algorithm for PET, which laid the foundation for future reconstruction algorithms. Carson's second major contribution involves the development of diverse tracer kinetic modeling techniques, a field in which he is recognized as a preeminent global authority. A decade ago, he and his colleagues at Yale pioneered synaptic density imaging with SV2A-PET in humans and animals, a significant innovation for imaging brain disorders. Most recently, he led the collaboration that produced the NeuroEXPLORER, an ultra-high performance imaging system that is producing exquisite images of the human brain.

"PET imaging has evolved tremendously over the past decades and is now an essential part of the diagnosis and monitoring of cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, and more," said Carson. "I've been incredibly fortunate to work with exceptional mentors, colleagues, and students during my PET career, and together we have made significant contributions to our field."

Carson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics-Biology from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1977, and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1983 in Biomathematics. From 1983 until 2005, Carson was an integral part of the PET program at the National Institutes of Health, rising to the rank of senior scientist. In 2005, Carson joined the faculty of Yale University as professor of Biomedical Engineering and Diagnostic Radiology. He was director of the Yale PET Center, a state-of-the-art facility focused on quantitative PET techniques using novel radiopharmaceuticals, from 2007 to 2022.

Richard E. Carson, PhD

A member of SNMMI since 1984, Carson has served the society in multiple roles. Carson is a member of the SNMMI Brain Imaging Council and the Physics, Instrumentation & Data Sciences Council. He presented the Henry N. Wagner Jr. Lectureship at the SNMMI 2018 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia and has been a member of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine editorial board since 2004.

Outside of SNMMI, Carson is a member of IEEE, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He also serves on the Centre for Imaging Research international advisory board and the PET Radiotracer Translation and Resource Center external advisory committee.

Carson has received numerous awards, including the 2024 SNMMI Image of the Year award, the Kuhl-Lassen Award and the Edward J. Hoffman Award from SNMMI, the Distinguished Investigator Award from the Academy of Radiology Research, and the Edward J. Hoffman Award for Medical Imaging from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He was named an IEEE Fellow in 2019 and received the 2024 IEEE Marie Skłodowska-Curie Award sponsored by the IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society. He has published more than 450 papers and given more than 200 invited lectures.

"Richard has played a role in so many of the quantitative PET techniques we utilize on a daily basis," noted Helen R. Nadel, MD, FRCPC, FSNMMI, chair of the SNMMI Committee on Awards. "His contributions to PET imaging have been pivotal in moving the field forward, and he is a very deserving recipient of the Aebersold Award."

The Aebersold Award is named for Paul C. Aebersold a pioneer in the biologic and medical application of radioactive materials and the first director of the Atomic Energy Commission s Division of Isotope Development. It recognizes outstanding achievement in basic science applied to nuclear medicine and was first presented in 1973. The SNMMI Committee on Awards selects the recipient.

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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.