Los Angeles, CA ( Saturday, May 30, 2026) -- Vasken Dilsizian, MD, FSNMMI, MASNC, FACC, FAHA, professor of radiology and medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, has been honored with two important distinctions at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2026 Annual Meeting. He will deliver the meeting's prestigious Henry N. Wagner, Jr., MD, lectureship and will receive the Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award.
Each year, the SNMMI Scientific Program Committee invites a distinguished leader whose work has shaped the field to deliver the prestigious Wagner Lectureship. Henry N. Wagner, Jr., MD, was a pioneering leader whose 50-year career advanced research, clinical innovation and education in the field. He trained more than 500 radiologists, internists, physicians, and scientists -- eight of whom later became president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, a role Wagner himself held from 1970 to 1971.
The Minoshima-Pappas Transformational Leadership Award -- named for Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, SNMMI past president, and Virginia Pappas, CAE, SNMMI chief executive officer -- honors an individual whose vision and leadership have fundamentally advanced nuclear medicine and molecular imaging and strengthened its value in patient care. It recognizes those who have conceived and successfully implemented bold, field-shaping innovations that create lasting impact.
"Receiving both of these awards is an incredible honor at the pinnacle of my career, and I am most grateful to the SNMMI and its leadership for their generous support and recognition of my scientific contributions to the field," said Dilsizian. "This is an exciting era for our profession, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside the society and my colleagues to further advance the impact of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging."
Dilsizian's work includes many high-impact discoveries. His early work on thallium reinjection transformed the practice of thallium stress imaging, and his research on the detection of myocardial ischemia as a potential cause of cardiac arrest and syncope in young people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy changed the treatment strategy for these patients. Dilsizian and his colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine were first to demonstrate the feasibility of FDG PET/CT for diagnosing infection of left ventricular assist devices and its effect on patient outcomes.
In addition, Dilsizian has contributed significantly to the quality of practice for nuclear cardiology, developing clinical and credentialing guidelines and contributing to training materials and books. He has also dedicated significant time to advocating for regulatory and legislative transformation and conducting outreach on the latest advances in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
An SNMMI member for more than three decades, Dilsizian has served the society in many capacities. From 2019 to 2020 he served as SNMMI s president, leading the society through the COVID pandemic and overseeing the first all-virtual Annual Meeting. He held leadership positions in the Cardiovascular Council for many years and served as chair of the Membership Committee, Outreach Domain, Awards Committee, and Committee on Nominations. He was a member of the SNMMI Board of Directors and House of Delegates, as well as a wide variety of other governing groups. He has also been a reviewer for The Journal of Nuclear Medicine for more than 20 years.
Dilsizian has served many other government and academic societies as well, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Nuclear Regulatory Commission, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), among others. He is an editorial board member for several scientific journals and serves as the deputy editor of JACC Cardiovascular Imaging .
Throughout his career, Dilsizian has been honored with many awards, such as the SNMMI Hermann Blumgart Pioneer Award for Contributions to Nuclear Cardiology in 2014, the "Master" of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology in 2016, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Federation of Cardiac Imaging and Clinical Cardiology in 2019. In 2024, he was the recipient of the Mario Verani Memorial Lecture Award, one of ASNC's highest honors, for his outstanding contributions in research, teaching, and patient care. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 11 books, and 51 book chapters.
Dilsizian graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1982 and completed an internal medicine residency at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1985. He then held fellowships in cardiology at Boston University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital in 1988, followed by a nuclear medicine residency at NIH in 1992. Dilsizian remained at NIH until 2001, during which he rose to director of nuclear cardiology. He then moved to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where he currently serves as chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine.
"Dr. Dilsizian is a role model for many physician-scientists and has made tremendous contributions to the field and to our colleagues," said Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, past president of SNMMI and chair of the SNMMI Value Initiative. "His innovative scientific work has driven meaningful advances in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and his service and leadership across the field have been truly exemplary."
"As an internationally recognized leader in nuclear cardiology, Dr. Dilsizian is extremely deserving of both of these awards," said Virginia Pappas, CAE, chief executive officer of SNMMI. "His innovative scientific work has driven meaningful advances in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and his service and leadership across the field have been truly exemplary."
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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, molecular imaging, and theranostics precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit snmmi.org .