SNMMI Elects Bennett S. Greenspan, M.D., MS, FACNM, FACR, as President

Bennett S. Greenspan, M.D., MS, FACNM, FACR, professor of radiology at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, in Augusta, Ga., has assumed office as 2017-18 president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). SNMMI introduced a new slate of officers during its 2017 Annual Meeting, June 10-14, in Denver, Colorado.      

“As SNMMI President, in the year ahead I will focus on the new Value Initiative and strategic plan, which emphasize quality of practice; research and development; strengthening education and the workforce pipeline; advocacy for molecular imaging, nuclear medicine, and targeted therapy procedures that improve patient care; and outreach that explains the field’s critical role in modern medicine,” Greenspan said.

With the focus on quality and value, Greenspan will continue SNMMI’s development of appropriate use criteria (AUC) and updating procedure guidelines for many nuclear medicine imaging procedures. He will also work on establishing more efficient and timely approval of novel radiotracers. His ultimate focus is on improving patients’ lives. “These improvements can lead to more appropriate utilization of diagnostic nuclear medicine exams and also radionuclide therapy, which will benefit patients,” he explained. “These goals can be facilitated by working closely with other societies and governmental agencies.”

Prior to his position as professor of radiology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Greenspan worked at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, N.Y.; University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y.; University of Missouri-Columbia; and Washington University in St. Louis, MO.  Greenspan is devoted to teaching clinical nuclear medicine, as well as nuclear medicine physics and radiation safety, to nuclear medicine and radiology residents. He is a member of three committees of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM): one on teaching medical physics to radiology residents, one on the development of the medical physics curriculum for radiology residents, and one on the physics of nuclear medicine.

Consistent with his keen interest in ensuring that nuclear medicine delivers the highest quality of care, Greenspan serves on the SNMMI Quality and Evidence Committee, is a reviewer for quality assurance in nuclear medicine for the American College of Radiology (ACR), and was a member of the PET Quality and Reporting Task Force of SNMMI’s PET Center of Excellence. He is a co-author of the paper “Reporting Guidance for Oncologic FDG PET/CT Imaging,” published in the May 2013 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Greenspan holds a Master of Science degree in medical physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, and earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He served residencies in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine and is certified in diagnostic radiology and nuclear radiology by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and in nuclear medicine by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM).

Greenspan’s research and scholarly interests include PET/CT imaging in oncology, especially using PET imaging to further characterize malignancies; evaluation of osteoporosis; and the effects of low-level radiation. He has been a co-investigator on 11 grants.

Greenspan is a Fellow of the ACR and the American College of Nuclear Medicine (ACNM). He currently serves on the boards of the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine and the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board. He is past chair of the SNMMI Committee on Councils and served as co-chair of the ACR Nuclear Medicine Procedure Guidelines Committee.

He has been president of the American College of Nuclear Physicians (ACNP), the Missouri Radiological Society, the SNMMI Academic Council (twice), the Missouri Valley Chapter of SNMMI (twice) and the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine. At SNMMI, he has served on the Board of Directors and on the boards of the Academic Council, Advanced Associate Council, Nuclear Oncology Council and Computer and Instrumentation Council. Greenspan has also served on the boards of the ACNM, the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Computed Tomography Laboratories (now the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission – IAC), and the Academy of Radiology Research, as well as on the executive councils of the ACNP and the ACR Intersociety Summer Conference. Greenspan continues to serve on numerous committees and task forces of the SNMMI, ACNM, ACR, Radiological Society of North America, Association of University Radiologists, AAPM and NMTCB. He has also been an ABR oral board examiner. 

Other SNMMI officers elected for 2017-18 are Satoshi Minoshima, M.D., Ph.D., Salt Lake City, Utah, as president-elect, and Vasken Dilsizian, M.D., Baltimore, Maryland, as vice president-elect. SNMMI Technologist Section officers for 2017-18 are Kathleen Krisak, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, Granby, Mass., as president, and Norman Bolus, MSPH, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, Birmingham, Alabama, as president-elect.

For more information: www.snmmi.org