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SNMMI Elects Cathy Sue Cutler, PhD, FSNMMI, as President-Elect at 2023 Annual Meeting
June 26, 2023
Chicago, Illinois (Embargoed until 9:30 am CDT, June 26, 2023)—Cathy Sue Cutler, PhD, FSNMMI, director of the medical isotope research and production program at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, has been named as president-elect for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2023 Annual Meeting, held June 24-27.
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A major challenge in the field is the lack of radiochemists, medical physicists, radiopharmacists, nuclear technologists and physicians. This at a time when the field is seeing significant growth. Cutler will work with the society to attract talent to the field and address this challenge. This is a top priority for Cutler during her term. “Another major challenge facing our field is the lack of sufficient funding,” she noted. “This has many downstream impacts, including deterring industry investment, lack of access to patients—particularly underserved populations, and talent leaving the field for other careers.”
Cutler also plans to generate training and education opportunities for SNMMI members, as well as other medical practitioners, on applications of theranostics for personalized medicine. In addition, she will focus on educating the public on the value nuclear medicine brings to clinical practice.
Cutler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, where she also completed a post-doctorate in analytical chemistry. She spent 17 years, first as a research scientist and then as a professor, at the University of Missouri Research Reactor center. During this time Cutler also served as a faculty member at the university’s Nuclear Sciences and Engineering Institute.
An active SNMMI member, Cutler has served the society in many capacities. In addition to serving as the vice president-elect, Cutler has served as SNMMI secretary/treasurer and as president of the SNMMI Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation. She has chaired the Advocacy Domain within SNMMI’s Value Initiative, the Committee on Government Relations, and the Committee on Radiopharmaceuticals and has participated in many other committees, such as the Committee on Ethics, the Women in Nuclear Medicine Committee, and the Scientific Program Committee. During her time in Missouri, Cutler was an active participant in the Missouri Valley Chapter of SNMMI.
Cutler is a member of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, and the American Chemical Association. She currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and was previously a member of the Executive Committee for the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute, a member of the Executive Committee of International Association of Radiopharmacology, and a member of the Steering Committee for the American Association of Cancer Research Chemistry in Cancer Research Group. Cutler also served as an expert on the United States Pharmacopeia panel to rewrite monographs 821, 1821 and 1823.
In 2022, Cutler received a Brookhaven Pinnacle award for her distinguished contributions to Brookhaven’s National Laboratory’s science and technology mission. In 2019, she received the Brookhaven 33rd Annual Women’s Recognition Award for Achievements in Science, and in 2014, she received the Mizzou Advantage Entrepreneurial Award. Cutler holds 12 patents and has published 95 peer-reviewed journal articles and eight book chapters. She has given more than 100 invited speaker presentations.
Other SNMMI officers elected for 2023-24 are Helen Nadel, MD, FRCPC, Stanford, California, as president and Jean-Luc C. Urbain, MD, PhD, FASNC, Buffalo, New York, as vice president-elect. SNMMI Technologist Section officers for 2023-24 are Dmitry Beyder, CNMT, MPA, St. Louis, Missouri, as president, and Julie Dawn Bolin, MS, CNMT, Phoenix, Arizona, 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 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.