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SNMTS provides $58,000 in 2006 scholarships, grants for nuclear medicine technologists

$10,000 PDEF Research Grant, PDEF Mickey Williams Minority Student Scholarships, PDEF Professional Development Scholarship Awarded

The awards include the Professional Development Education Fund Research Grant, which provides $10,000 to encourage technologists to initiate innovative research projects that advance knowledge of the profession in either clinical practice, education or professional development and two Mickey Williams Minority Student scholarships, which provide $5,000 to a minority student entering or enrolled in a molecular imaging/nuclear medicine technologist program. In addition, a $5,000 PDEF Professional Development Scholarship, which supports a nuclear medicine technologist who is pursuing a master's or doctoral degree, and 33 Paul Cole scholarships were announced at SNM's Mid-Winter Educational Symposium Feb. 11–12 in Tempe, Ariz. The grant and scholarships are funded by the Corporate Friends of the PDEF, which include Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Capintec Inc., GE Healthcare, Mallinckrodt, Inc. and MDS Nordion.

"Through its scholarship and grants program, SNMTS invests in the future of the nuclear medicine technology profession by supporting both the development of future practitioners and research," said SNMTS President Valerie R. Cronin, CNMT, FSNMTS. "SNMTS remains committed to encouraging individuals to pursue careers in molecular and nuclear imaging," she added.

Gregory G. Passmore, Ph.D., CNMT, associate professor of biomedical and radiological technologies with both the School of Allied Health Sciences and the School of Graduate Studies at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, was awarded the $10,000 PDEF Research Grant. Passmore's research project, "Testing of DU Colimator for Removal of Tl/Tc Dual-Isotope Cross-Talk," applies basic physics principals to a clinical nuclear medicine technology problem. This project designs and tests the efficacy of a depleted uranium collimator for physically removing the scatter and X-ray contamination that occurs during dual isotope imaging, possibly leading to an improved protocol with advantages for patient care and departmental management of patient load.

Passmore, an SNMTS member, received both his doctorate in curriculum and instruction/science education and his master's degree in nuclear engineering/medical physics from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Christina Araujo of Omaha, Neb., an undergraduate student with the nuclear medicine program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and Starr White of Easton, Pa., an undergraduate student with the nuclear medicine technology program at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa., both received $5,000 PDEF Mickey Williams Minority Student scholarships. This scholarship, which supports minority students pursuing a two- or four-year degree in nuclear medicine technology, honors the memory of Mickey Williams, a past SNMTS president who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica.

Said Diabes Figueroa, M.S., CNMT, RT(N), of Columbia, Mo., a doctoral student in the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute at the University of Missouri–Columbia, received an extension on a two-year PDEF Professional Development Scholarship. Figueroa, who has a bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico, earned his nuclear medicine technology certificate and master's degree in nuclear engineering/medical physics from the University of Missouri–Columbia. His doctoral research will involve imaging and dosimetry related to new radiation-based therapeutic agents for treating cancer.

In addition, the Education and Research Foundation for SNM funded 33 Paul Cole Scholarships, established in memory of Paul Cole, a champion of student education, who died in 1986 while serving as SNMTS president. The society's Central Chapter funded two of the $1,000 Paul Cole scholarships. These $1,000 awards provide support for students enrolled in or accepted for enrollment in associate, baccalaureate or certificate programs in nuclear medicine technology. They are based on financial need, statements of goals, academic performance and program director recommendations.

This year's Paul Cole Scholarship recipients and their college affiliations are listed here.

• Travis Fogelman, Delaware Technical and Community College, Wilmington, Del.
• Katherine Weigel, College of Health Sciences, Florida Hospital, Orlando, Fla.
• Michelle Kraus, Medical Sciences Education Department, St. Vincent's Medical Center, Jacksonville, Fla.
• Susie Zumbahlen, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo. (funded by SNM's Central Chapter)
• Georgiena Stefanatos, Elmhurst College/Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill. (funded by SNM's Central Chapter
• Marjan Muvceski, School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Brittni Jackson, School of Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Karly Sopic, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City
• Brandi Huber, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City
• Jami Hogan, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich.
• Michelle Benaske, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich.
• Louis Mbibi, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Flint Ansden, School of Nuclear Medicine, Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, Maine
• Garrett Holzum, University of Missouri, Columbia
• Jaykumar Patel, School of Health Related Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Scotch Plains, N.J.
• Deanna Saldnana, Nuclear Medicine Institute, University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio
• Charity Harris, Kent State University/Salem campus, Salem, Ohio
• Jenny Duval, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock
• Audrey Willett, Health Science Center, Department of Radiologic Technology, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City
• Lindsay Wilson, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma City
• Stacey Trone, Lancaster General College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Lancaster, Pa.
• Shelly States, Nuclear Medicine Institute, University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio
• Jonathan Crites, Kent State University/Salem campus, Salem, Ohio
• Megan Berkstresser, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (joint program with University of Findlay), Indiana, Pa.
• Laura Dee Trimnal, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta
• Nealy Cook, Midlands Technical College, Columbia, S.C.
• Melissa Dutton, Midlands Technical College, Columbia, S.C.
• Ryan Raml, Southeast Technical Institute, Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Jaime Reid, Nuclear Medicine Institute, University of Findlay, Findlay, Ohio
• Amanda Wanta, Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
• Ashley Mroczenski, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
• Robert McPherson, University of Toronto (joint program with Michener Institute), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Lindsey Doble, University of Toronto (joint program with Michener Institute), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Joshua Clayton, Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, New Brunswick Community College/University of New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada

The PDEF Research Grant, the PDEF Mickey Williams Minority Student scholarships and the PDEF Professional Development Scholarship are funded by the Corporate Friends of PDEF: Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Capintec Inc., GE Healthcare, Mallinckrodt Inc. and MDS Nordion. The Education and Research Foundation for SNM has been supporting the molecular and nuclear imaging community since its founding in 1969. The foundation's mission is to advance excellence in health care through education and research in molecular imaging/nuclear medicine by provision of grants and awards.

For more information about these awards or to learn more about the PDEF, the ERF or making a contribution, please contact Kathy Bates, SNM's director of development, via phone at (703) 708-9000, ext. 1028, or via e-mail at kbates@snm.org. Information is posted on SNM's Web site at http://www.snm.org/grants.

About SNM
SNM is an international scientific and professional organization of more than 16,000 members dedicated to promoting the science, technology and practical applications of molecular and nuclear imaging to diagnose, manage and treat diseases in women, men and children. Founded more than 50 years ago, SNM continues to train physicians, technologists, scientists, physicists, chemists and radiopharmacists in state-of-the-art imaging procedures and advances; provide essential resources for health care practitioners and patients; publish the most prominent peer-reviewed resource in the field; sponsor research grants, fellowships and awards; and host the premier annual meeting for medical imaging. SNM members have introduced--and continue to explore--biological and technological innovations in medicine that noninvasively investigate the molecular basis of diseases, benefiting countless generations of patients. SNM is based in Reston, Va.; additional information can be found online at http://www.snm.org.

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