2016 Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging News

Technologist of the Year

November 3, 2016

Nora Gurevich, winner of the Technologist of the Year Award, announced November 2016. Nora is the heartbeat of the Nuclear Medicine department and this award encapsulates it. Congratulations on a job well done!!!


Stanford Nuclear Medicine Wins Aunt Minnie 2016 Best Radiology Image

November 2, 2016

A PET image series from the Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has won the Best Radiology Image in this year's Minnies awards, recognizing excellence in radiology. The image examines two new PET radiotracers, gallium-68 PSMA-11 and gallium-68 RM2, to determine their effectiveness in identifying rising levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which signals prostate cancer recurrence. Existing imaging modalities such as CT, ultrasound, and MRI are already used to determine prostate cancer recurrence, but they have limited sensitivity and specificity. The two agents target different biological processes and have different distribution patterns in the body. Some patients might benefit from having both scans performed, however. In addition, the agents could be labeled with lutetium-177 for therapeutic uses.

The winning image was associated with a paper titled "Pilot Comparison of 68Ga-RM2 PET and 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET in Patients with Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer," which was published in the April 2016 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Neither of the gallium-68 agents have been approved yet by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The radiotracers cannot be used clinically until approved by the FDA.

Upon receiving word of the award, Dr. Iagaru said, "The Stanford team wants to acknowledge the efforts and support of the Clinical Trials Network at SNMMI, nuclear medicine colleagues in Heidelberg, Munich, Bologna, Melbourne, and São Paulo, and at UCSF, UCLA, MSKCC and Mayo, as well as many others worldwide who work together to bring new PET agents to their patients. This award is a recognition of the hard work of the entire nuclear medicine community."



Dr. McDougall Received SNMMI 2016 Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award

June 12, 2016

Ross McDougall, MB, ChB, PhD, professor emeritus of radiology and medicine, has been named this year’s recipient of the Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award for his contributions to nuclear medicine. McDougall was presented the award by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) at its 2016 Annual Meeting, held June 11-15, 2016, in San Diego, Calif.

Each year, SNMMI presents the Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award to an individual for outstanding contributions to the field of nuclear medicine. De Hevesy received the 1943 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in determining the absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of radioactive compounds in the human body. His work led to the foundation of nuclear medicine as a tool for diagnosis and therapy, and he is considered to be one of the fathers of nuclear medicine. SNMMI has given the de Hevesy Award every year since 1960 to honor groundbreaking discoveries and inventions in the field of nuclear medicine.

Congratulations, Dr. McDougall, for this honor in recognition of your lifetime of work and contributions!



FDA approves new diagnostic imaging agent to detect rare neuroendocrine tumors

June 1, 2016

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Netspot, the first kit for the preparation of gallium Ga 68 dotatate injection, a radioactive diagnostic agent for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. This radioactive probe will help locate tumors in adult and pediatric patients with the rare condition, somatostatin receptor positive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

Stanford supported the use of Ga68 DOTA TATE through an expanded access protocol that to date enrolled 194 patients. We were one of only 2 sites West of Mississippi to offer this study since January 2014. Our efforts to offer access to Ga68 DOTA TATE regardless of insurance status were supported by the Department of Radiology, Stanford HealthCare and a generous donation from the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.

Thank you all for contributing to this success story!

Andrei Iagaru, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology - Nuclear Medicine
Co-Chief, Division of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging
Stanford University Medical Center



Tracy Burk Received 2015 Inspiring Change Leadership Award Winner

May 3, 2016

Tracy Burk, an Administrative Associate in the Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Clinic, was chosen as the 2015 winner of the School of Medicine’s Inspiring Change Leadership Award. The Inspiring Change Leadership Award is given to one or two eligible staff members who have initiated or led change and innovation — e.g., implementing new processes, systems, organizational structures or operating paradigms that will result in transformative improvements in service, efficiency, value, effectiveness, outcome or satisfaction. In Tracy's case, she was nominated by Jake Mickelsen who worked with her for the RITE project. 

Marcia Cohen, Senior Associate Dean for Finance and Administration for the Stanford University School of Medicine, presented Tracy with a Letter of Congratulations and an invitation to the Dean’s Recognition Luncheon on Monday, May 16, 2016. Teresa will be formally acknowledged at the Dean’s Recognition Luncheon and will receive a Certificate and check for $3000.

Congratulations, Tracy!