The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that Chun Li, PhD, professor of chemistry in the Department of Cancer Systems Imaging at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, has been selected as the recipient of a $100,000 Drs. Jane & Abass Alavi Mars Shot Research Award from the 2026 Mars Shot Fund. The Alavi Mars Shot Award is focused on advancing imaging research in infection and inflammation, and Li's grant was awarded based on his proposal, "Imaging vascular inflammation and response to therapy in atherosclerotic coronary artery disease."

Researchers at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center recently published the first set of data from the Risks Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal, or RURAL, Heart and Lung study. The first-of-its-kind study was developed to explore why people who live in rural areas suffer disproportionately from heart and lung diseases, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Led by Dr. Stephanie Broyles, professor and director of the Contextual Risk Factors Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical, the longitudinal study first gathered data in Louisiana’s Assumption Parish and then collected data in Franklin Parish. The data book for Assumption Parish is now available to explore. 

Regulations for rotational atherectomy (RA) were relaxed for Japanese hospitals in 2020, allowing smaller hospitals to perform RA during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for calcified coronary artery disease. Researchers analyzed nationwide registry data and found adverse event rates among patients receiving PCI did not increase in smaller hospitals newly accredited for RA use after 2020 revision, although more patients received RAs. These findings support the safety of the policy change, improving access to advanced treatments.

Researchers at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) have developed a novel virtual reality (VR) system that could make the treatment of arachnophobia, also known as spider phobia, more targeted and personalised in the future. The “VRSpi” system is a prototype which analyses the EEG data and heart rate of the participants during a confrontation with spiders in a VR environment. Based on this objective measurement data, it adjusts the intensity of the stimuli in real time to the person’s current level of anxiety. This avoids over- or under-stimulation and optimises the effectiveness of the exposure in order to get the users used to the creatures.

A team of scientists have uncovered a mechanism that allows certain head and neck cancers to hide from the immune system, a discovery that could change how some of the most treatment resistant tumors are approached. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies a single protein at the heart of this invisibility and shows that removing it can make hidden tumors vulnerable to treatment.

WashU Medicine researchers found that stopping GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide — even temporarily — elevates the risk of heart attack, stroke and death compared to staying on the medication continuously.