WMIS Names Dr. Sam Gambhir 2017 President-elect

CULVER CITY, Calif., Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Molecular Imaging Society (WMIS) today announced that Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, M.D., Ph.D. has been named president-elect for 2017. Dr. Gambhir will serve on the board of directors starting at the 2015 World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC) meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii until his term begins September 10^th, 2016 during the WMIC meeting in New York City.

Dr. Gambhir is Chair, Department of Radiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine.  His work is focused on the multimodality Molecular Imaging of living subjects, with a particular emphasis on cancer imaging. He is an internationally known spokesperson for early cancer detection and was instrumental in starting the Canary Center specifically for the purpose of bringing together in vitro diagnostics and in vivo molecular imaging for early cancer detection.

"Dr. Gambhir has made some of the most significant contributions to the field of Molecular Imaging, and he has been an integral part the WMIS community for many years, previously serving as president and a board member. As president-elect, Sam will guide the society with vision and passion, and impact industry through identifying the best pathways to stimulate growth and drive the Molecular Imaging field toward translation," said Christopher Contag, Ph.D., Professor, Stanford University and President WMIS 2016. "WMIS is the world leader in innovation and integration in imaging, and Sam, as a physician-scientist and visionary, is the perfect person to continue building our strong scientific and educational programs. Sam has an unwavering passion for science, especially imaging, and an extraordinary dedication to members of the community —it is an honor to welcome him into his new role."

Most recently, Dr. Gambhir described strategies for early lung cancer detection that combine blood testing with multimodality Molecular Imaging. His lab has developed novel molecular imaging assays to evaluate cell trafficking, assess gene expression, measure enzyme activity, and image protein-protein interactions. He has translated many of his innovations for multimodality Molecular Imaging to patients including several novel PET tracers and has had a tremendous impact on the field. He has also trained over 150 scientists in his lab that are now doing Molecular Imaging all over the world.

"Moving the Molecular Imaging field towards precision health and translating our discoveries for helping people to lead healthier lives should be one key goal for our evolving field," said Dr. Gambhir.  "I am honored to have been elected as president of WMIS 2017."

At the 2015 WMIC, held annually by WMIS, Dr. Gambhir will speak in the "Fellows Forum," a new scientific session of the WMIC. He will address the topic of "The Future of Molecular Imaging in Early Detection," within the theme of the meeting, "Precision Medicine…Visualized." The Fellows Forum was designed to provide an opportunity for our WMIS Fellows, as visionaries in the field of Molecular Imaging, to bring their insights to the community, inspire young scientists, and to lead discussions on the controversial topics in the field.

Follow the annual WMIC 2015 meeting on Twitter and Instagram: #WMIC2015

ABOUT WORLD MOLECULAR IMAGING SOCIETY
The WMIS is dedicated to developing and promoting translational research through multimodality molecular imaging. The education and abstract-driven WMIC is the annual meeting of the WMIS and is held in conjunction with partner societies including the European Society for Molecular Imaging (ESMI) and the Federation of Asian Societies for Molecular Imaging (FASMI). WMIC provides a unique setting for scientists and clinicians with very diverse backgrounds to interact, present, and follow cutting-edge advances in the rapidly expanding field of molecular imaging that impacts nearly every biomedical discipline. Industry exhibits at the congress included corporations who have created the latest advances in preclinical and clinical imaging approaches and equipment, providing a complete molecular imaging educational technology showcase. For more information: www.wmis.org

Contact: Lisa Baird
Phone: 617-378-7682
e-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE World Molecular Imaging Society

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http://www.wmis.org