SNM, the world’s largest society for medical professionals in the molecular imaging and nuclear medicine profession, has received nearly $3.3 million in corporate donations for its “Bench to Bedside” campaign. SNM, the world’s largest society for medical professionals in the molecular imaging and nuclear medicine profession, has received nearly $3.3 million in corporate donations for its “Bench to Bedside” campaign. Recent pledges from IBA Molecular, MDS Nordion and Cardinal Health, totaling more than $1 million, have been added to previous commitments from industry donors including GE Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Philips and FluoroPharma.

“The ‘Bench to Bedside’ campaign is a five-year, concentrated effort to raise $5 million to power SNM’s important initiative: uniting the imaging community in the effort to translate new molecular imaging research into health care innovations that can be used in patient care,” said SNM President Martin P. Sandler. “Molecular imaging—‘seeing’ biological targets or pathways in the body to understand how individual molecules are working—is at the forefront of ‘personalized medicine,’ which eventually will allow us to tailor the treatment of a disease to each individual patient. Molecular imaging is advancing the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up on disease to improve the lives of people worldwide,” he added. “We are pleased that innovative corporate leaders believe in SNM and support our mission. The campaign’s importance is underlined by the fact that pledges are well ahead of our intended goal,” said Sandler.

“Bench to Bedside: A Molecular Imaging Campaign” is being carried out in partnership with SNM’s Education and Research Foundation. The campaign was jump-started last summer with $1 million from lead donor GE Healthcare.

Through collaboration with members of SNM’s Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence, the society has drafted a separate, five-year action plan to move molecular imaging research from bench to bedside. “Bench to Bedside” funds will be used to support translational research; facilitate clinical research and clinical trials; support outreach activities to referring physicians, patient groups, regulators and funders; increase advocacy for molecular imaging; and train the current imaging workforce and educate future generations of practitioners on the applications of molecular imaging.

“To underscore the importance of this campaign and the society’s mission to improve health care by advancing molecular imaging and therapy, SNM has named Marybeth Howlett as the director of our Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence,” said Virginia Pappas, chief executive officer. Howlett, the founding executive director of the Public Health Policy Advisory Board—an independent, nonpartisan organization in Washington, D.C., created by former Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan—will implement the center’s strategic initiatives, explained Pappas.

As the center’s director, Howlett—who launched and ran PHPAB for three years and has an educational background in public policy and environmental science—will help Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence leadership create a Web site devoted to molecular imaging; establish collaborative relationships within the medical community; develop new grants and awards and educational curricula to support the field; initiate action plans to enable emerging molecular imaging technologies to become clinically useful; and initiate dialogues with regulatory, funding and legislative officials to explore areas of mutual interest. Prior to her work at PHPAB, Howlett held positions of senior science manager for the Chlorine Chemistry Council in Arlington, Va., and project manager for American Management Systems in Fairfax, Va. A graduate of Yale College and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, she also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Corporate and individual donors will find information about the “Bench to Bedside: A Molecular Imaging Campaign” and how to donate on SNM’s Web site at http://www.snm.org/micampaign.

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