Reston, Va. (September 2, 2014) – The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014-2016 SNMMI Wagner-Torizuka Fellowship. This two-year fellowship, founded in 2008 by the late Henry N. Wagner, Jr., MD, and the late Kanji Torizuka, MD, PhD, is designed to provide extensive training and experience in the fields of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging for Japanese physicians in the early stages of their careers.
"SNMMI is proud to sponsor the Wagner-Torizuka Fellowship. This program honors two international pioneers and helps to promote continued research in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging," said Gary L. Dillehay, MD, SNMMI immediate past president and chair of the SNMMI Awards Committee.
The 2014-2016 fellows, each receiving an annual stipend of $24,000 (US), are:
- Mitsutomi Ishiyama, MD, St. Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, whose research interest is functional imaging using modalities such as PET/CT, SPECT/CT and MRI, etc., to elucidate pathophysiology of various kinds of diseases—works as a clinical fellow (PET/CT fellowship program) at the Department of Radiology of the University of Washington, Seattle, under the supervision of advisor Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD.
- Masayoshi Nakano, MD, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan, whose research interest focuses on neurology—in particular to elucidate neuropsychiatric disorders involving the insula by investigating the insular functional subdivision model using PET—is conducting research at the Nuclear Medicine, the Russel H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University Medical School, Baltimore, Md., under the supervision of advisor Dean F. Wong, MD, PhD.
- Kensuke Tateishi, MD, PhD, Yokohama City University, Department of Neurosurgery, Kanagawa, Japan, whose major field of interest is brain tumors—in particular, elucidating treatment-resistant mechanisms through several PET tracers and also identifying the genomic abnormality of malignant gliomas using MRS and PET imaging—is studying at the Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, under the supervision of advisor Daniel Cahill, MD, PhD.
The SNMMI Wagner-Torizuka Fellowship program, sponsored by Nihon Medi-Physics Co. Ltd. in Japan, is now entering its eighth year. The program has successfully graduated 17 fellows since its inauguration in 2008; currently, six fellows are studying at host institutions across the United States.
Applications and further information about requirements for the 2015-2017 SNMMI Wagner-Torizuka Fellowship are available online at http://www.snmmi.org/grants. Applications are due January 31, 2015. For more information about these and other scholarships, visit http://www.snmmi.org/grants or contact the Development Department at (703) 652-6780 or at developmenttemp@snmmi.org.
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 raising public awareness about nuclear medicine and molecular imaging, a vital element of today's medical practice that adds an additional dimension to diagnosis, changing the way common and devastating diseases are understood and treated and helping provide patients with the best health care possible.
SNMMI's more than 18,000 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 http://www.snmmi.org.