The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that Ansel Hillmer, PhD, associate professor of radiology, and Eric Webb, PhD, research investigator, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have been selected as the recipients 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 Hillmer and Webb s grant was awarded based on his proposal, "Molecular imaging of brain inflammation in Alzheimer s disease: Targeting the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor."

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) has named Arvin Haj-Mirzaian, MD, instructor in radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and Pedram Heidari, MD, chief of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, as recipients 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 Haj-Mirzaian and Heidari s grant was awarded based on their proposal, "¹⁸F-NaF PET/CT for early detection and diagnosis of calciphylaxis in dialysis-dependent patients."

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that David H. Ballard, MD, assistant professor of radiology at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, 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 Ballard s grant was awarded based on his proposal, "Novel PET/MR imaging of metabolic activity, proinflammatory macrophage-mediated inflammation, and association with fibrosis in Crohn's disease."

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that Carolyn J. Anderson, PhD--Steve and Karen Ellebracht Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, professor of radiology, and associate director of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia--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 Anderson s grant was awarded based on her proposal, "Fluorine-18 LLP2A for PET imaging of vaso-occlusive crisis in sickle cell disease."

Australia: QUT-led research reveals that Queensland general practitioners provide compassionate, holistic care to patients seeking voluntary assisted dying (VAD), but many face significant hurdles which limit their capacity to participate, highlighting the need for improved remuneration, streamlined processes, and broader education to support safe and sustainable practice.

Fake news can be tricky to spot, but spotting fake drugs just got a little easier. UC Riverside researchers have devised a low-cost way to help distinguish legitimate medications from counterfeit ones. 

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.