Speakers Short BIOS

---

Munir Ghesani, MD, FACNM, FACR, FSNMMI, serves as the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer of United Theranostics in Princeton. He has completed training in internal medicine, nuclear medicine, and diagnostic radiology. Previously, Dr. Ghesani held the position of Systems Chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York and continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. With over 25 years of dedicated experience, Dr. Ghesani is actively involved in clinical practice, research, clinical trials, and education, with a primary focus on nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and innovative targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies. His expertise has earned him recognition from Castle Connolly as one of the Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area, along with numerous other accolades in the field of nuclear medicine.

Dr. Ghesani has contributed to over 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of a comprehensive three-part book on nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. He is also a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered more than 200 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences.

Dr. Ghesani has demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout his career, holding significant roles such as the Past President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI).

Irene Virgolini was appointed as a university lecturer (venia docendi) in Experimental Nuclear Medicine in 1992 (with her work on functional liver scintigraphy) as well as in 1995 in Internal Medicine (with her work on oncological receptor scintigraphy) at the Medical University of Vienna. In 2000, Virgolini became the Director of the Institute of Nuclear Medicine at the Vienna City Hospital Lainz. In 2003, she was appointed Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck and became Full Professor (Ordinarius) of Nuclear Medicine. Since then, the university clinic has further expanded in the areas of clinical care, research, and teaching in nuclear medicine. This includes being involved in national and international cooperation, including participation in expert committees as well as in scientific projects of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), both in preclinical development and in the clinical application of radiopharmaceuticals for both diagnosis and therapy. Irene Virgolini's focus in clinical research lies in the development and preclinical validation of new radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine, both for diagnosis and therapy. Under her leadership, several new nuclear medicine tracer procedures have been clinically established.

Prof. Dr. Akram Al-Ibraheem, MD, FRCP, FEBNM, DCBNC, FANMB, FRCPE, is Chairman of the Nuclear Medicine and PET/CT Department at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), Jordan. He is President of the Asia Oceania Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology (AOFNMB), President of the Jordanian Society of Nuclear Medicine, and Founding President of the Arab Society of Nuclear Medicine (2014–2019). Since 2012, he has been an expert for the IAEA and also served as a consultant to the WHO. He founded and directs KHCC’s nuclear medicine residency program and currently serve as the chairperson of nuclear medicine scientific committee in Jordan Medical Council.. Prof. Al-Ibraheem pioneered advanced nuclear medicine and theranostic services in Jordan, including PET/CT molecular imaging, PRRT, and PSMA-targeted therapy. He has authored over 180 PubMed-indexed articles on oncology imaging and therapy. He is Associate Editor of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and Asia Oceania Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology, and serves on multiple editorial boards including JNM and EJNMMI. He is frequently invited to speak at major international conferences.

Education

28.09.2012 University Nürnberg-Erlangen, Master of Health Business Administration 

01.07.2007 Technical University Dresden PhD thesis (autoradiography, dosimetry and clinical application of rhenium-188-HEDP in bone metastases of prostate cancer)

10.05.2000 Consultant in Nuclear Medicine

16.12.1992 Consultant in Paediatrics

25.07.1989 Technical University Dresden MD with summa cum laude 

01.09.1986 Technical University Dresden, Germany: licence to practise medicine

Professional Experience

2022 appl Professor at University Marburg

2014-present Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder)

2007 unsalaried lecture at the University Hospital Dresden and University Marburg 

2006 – 2013     Head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine 

2002 – 2005 assistant medical director at University Hospital Dresden

Katherine Vallis is Professor of Experimental Radiotherapeutics, Department of Oncology, Oxford University, and Consultant Clinical Oncologist at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She graduated in medicine from the Medical College of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, and trained in Clinical Oncology at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School. After obtaining her PhD in Biochemistry at Edinburgh University she was appointed as Staff Radiation Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Hospital Cancer Centre, and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. Her research is focussed on the development of peptide-, oligonucleotide- and antibody-based radiopharmaceuticals, to image and treat cancer. The aims are to understand the biodistribution, dosimetry and radiobiological effects of new and approved agents and how best to combine them with other treatments, including external beam radiotherapy.

Dr Partha S Choudhury pursued his post graduate training in India and is a Nuclear Medicine Physician with special interest in Radionuclide Therapy . He has more than 30 years of experience in Nuclear Oncology and has also been trained in St. Vincents Hospital Sydney NSW. He began his career as Assistant Radiologist (Nuclear Medicine) at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, before joining Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre Delhi  in 1998 , a tertiary level cancer institute of repute with post graduate and super specialty teaching. He is an invited speaker in conferences and symposiums across many countries,a technical co-operation consultant of IAEA,expert faculty in Regional Training courses,recipient of multiple travel grants.UICC scholar award for World cancer congress (2006 & 2010),Asia Oceania distinguished young investigators award of Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine (JSNM), best researcher of the year , Brig S.K. Mazumdar memorial oration award of SNM (India)& Dr S.K.Sharma Oration award of the Association of Nuclear Medicine Physicians of India (ANMPI). He is Past President of  WARMTH, member of Board of Directors, AOFNMB.He is a member task force of the integrated mission of PACT (impact) review to Nepal under PACT jointly by IARC, IAEA and WHO to assess the national capacities & health system readiness to respond to cancer burden in 2021. Winner of the “Best of the Best” presentation award during the IPET-2024 at the IAEA ViennaOur conference offers a wide range of educational sessions that cover a variety of topics, from marketing and sales to finance and operations. Expand your knowledge and gain new insights that can help you grow your business.

John Buscombe graduated from the London Hospital Medical College in 1984. He first trained as a general (internal) physician and then trained in nuclear medicine. He was appointed a specialist in nuclear medicine at the Royal Free Hospital in 1994. Since 2010 he worked in Cambridge and was a professor at the University of Pretoria. He has a long involvement in theragnostics and has been a member of WARMTH since its start. He has published over 250 papers and was editor of the World Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2013-8

Dr. Gnanasegaran  Completed Nuclear Medicine Residency from Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, London, UK. Appointed as Consultant in Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital in 2007. Currently based at Royal Free Hospital in London.  He was appointed as the first education chair of the British Nuclear Medicine Society, UK. He has written and co-edited several scientific papers and books on nuclear medicine. He is the current president elect of WFNMB.

Dr. Maharaj is the current Secretary of the World Association of Radiopharmaceutical & Molecular Therapy (WARMTH), 2024-2025. She is also a member and facilitator of the BRICS Nations Nuclear Medicine Working Group (NMWG). Dr. Maharaj leads a critical radionuclide therapeutic initiative across Africa. As part of a joint task force with NTP Radioisotopes, AEC Amersham, and Umhlanga Molecular Therapy and Imaging (UMIT)—where she serves as head—she is focused on training and establishing therapeutic centers across the continent. The initiative was successfully launched in Accra, Ghana, in May 2023, in December 2024, she performed the first Lutetium cancer treatments in Lagos, Nigeria, and Kenya in May 2025.

Isabel Marín Melero is a Nuclear Medicine specialist currently working at the Institut Jules Bordet, part of the Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles. She obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Zaragoza, Spain. Her clinical and academic interests focus on endocrine oncology, particularly differentiated thyroid cancer, and the integration of molecular imaging and radioiodine therapy into patient care.

She served as Coordinator of the Thyroid Cancer Multidisciplinary Meeting at Jules Bordet from 2022 to 2024. Since October 2023, she has been pursuing a PhD at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Her research, “Molecular imaging and dosimetry in differentiated thyroid cancer for treatment optimization and outcome prediction,” explores how imaging and dosimetry can personalize therapy and improve prognostic assessment.

She is a member of the EANM Thyroid Cancer Working Group and will contribute to the 2026 ESMIT course. She is also affiliated with the Belgian Society of Nuclear Medicine (BELNUC) and the Spanish Society of Nuclear Medicine (SEMNIM), as an active member of its Nuclear Endocrinology Group, where she served as moderator during the 2024 congress. Additionally, she is a member of the European Thyroid Association and the Belgian Thyroid Club. In July 2025, she lectured in the CIVIS Blended Intensive Programme, a European interuniversity course, addressing radioiodine therapy and combined approaches in advanced thyroid cancer.

Dr. Iagaru is a Professor of Radiology - Nuclear Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center. He completed medical school at Carol Davila University of Medicine, Bucharest, Romania, and an internship at Drexel University College of Medicine, Graduate Hospital, in the Department of Medicine in Philadelphia. Andrei began his residency at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, in the Division of Nuclear Medicine. Dr. Iagaru finished his residency and completed a PET/CT fellowship at Stanford University's School of Medicine in the Division of Nuclear Medicine. His research interests include PET/MRI and PET/CT for early cancer detection, as well as clinical translation of novel radiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy.

Since joining the faculty at Stanford in 2007, Dr. Iagaru has received several awards including the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) 2009 Image of the Year Award; AuntMinnie 2016 Best Radiology Image; American College of Nuclear Medicine (ACNM) Mid-Winter Conference 2010 Best Essay Award; 2009, 2014 and 2015 Western Regional SNM Scientist Award; 2011 SNM Nuclear Oncology Council Young Investigator Award; the 2020 Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Distinguished Scientist Award, Western Regional SNM; the 2022 Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Trailblazer Award, SNMMI; the 2022 Distinguished Investigator Award, The Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research and the 2023 Presidential Award, SNMMI. Dr. Iagaru published more than 245 papers

Prof Kairemo graduated with a MSc(Eng) degree from Helsinki Univ. of Technology in 1980 before medical training (MD (86), PhD (93)) at the Univ of Helsinki, Finland. He became specialist in Clinical Chemistry (94), Nuclear Medicine (96), Health Care Administration (02) and Pharmaceutical Medicine (06) at Helsinki Univ Central Hosp (HUCH). He had a post-doc fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1989-93 in New York. Besides Finland he is licensed medical specialist in Norway (1998), Sweden (2001) and Estonia (2010). Prof Kairemo has held posts as Professor in Clinical Chemistry at the Norwegian Univ of Science and Technology(1998-9), Professor in Nuclear Medicine at Uppsala Univ Hosp in Sweden (2001-5) and as Head of the Nuclear Medicine, Department of Oncology at HUCH (2004-9). In 2009-2018, he has been the Chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Radiotherapy (Theragnostics) at the Docrates Cancer Center, in Helsinki. Since 2015 he has acted as Visiting Professor in the Nuclear Medicine Dept of The Univ of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, TX; last visits in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Prof Kairemo has also held posts in industry, as Medical Director of CTT Cancer Targeting Technologies Oy (2001-6), Medical Director of Imanext Oy (2006-8) and Clinical Director at Advanced Accelerator Applications SA in 2009 (now Novartis Co.) Besides a few patents prof Kairemo has published more than 250 original publications. He is the current President of WARMTH.

Dr Kountourakis P is  the Director  of  Medical Oncology Department  at the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus.  During his training and fellowhips in University Hospitals in Hellas (Evangelismos, Attikon, Saint Savvas) and U.S.A.) (Yale University, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center) I participated in various clinical and research projects. 

In July 2007, he was awarded a PhD by the Medical School of  University of Athens focused on HER receptors  in colorectal  cancer.

During his fellowship at Yale University one of  his main research projects were in relation with  molecular epidemiology of ovarian and head and neck cancer using a novel method of compartmentalized in situ protein analysis (automated quantitative protein analysis, AQUA). 

He  participated in a number of industry sponsored studies as well as academic and clinical trials coordinated by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. He has   published more than 80 full papers  in peer-reviewed international journals and part of his work has been presented in international meetings (ASCO, ESMO conferences). His main focus of interest is therapy for GI and GYNAECOLOGICAL cancers.

Dr. Macapinlac is certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, with a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Nuclear Cardiology. He was also elected as a fellow of the American College of Nuclear Physicians. 

Prior to coming to M.D. Anderson, he served as clinical director of the Laurent and Alberta Gershel Positron Emission Tomography Center of Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Dr. Macapinlac is an active committee member of various groups, and has served as past‐Chair of the Institute of Clinical PET. He was President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine PET Center of Excellence and received the SNM Distinguished Service Award for this role and the distinguished 2023 Peter Valk Memorial Award.

Dr. Macapinlac is also an expert consultant to the IAEA, and an International Visiting Professor for the Radiological Society of North America. He has over 230 publications and is considered a national and international expert in the field of nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography.

Josh is an internationally recognised advocate for neuroendocrine tumour patients as well as an advocate for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. He is the inaugural chair of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's (SNMMI) Patient Advocacy Advisory Board, a member of the Education and Research Foundation for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (ERF) Board, President of NorCal CarciNET Community, and COO of WARMTH. Josh also serves as the consumer advocate to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Advisory Committee for the use of Medical Isotopes. Mr. Mailman has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and has been a technology entrepreneur for more than 20 years.

Dr. Agni Tsangaridi is a Nuclear Medicine resident at AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. She holds a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MD from the University of Nicosia Medical School and is currently completing an MSc in Biomedical Imaging and Radiation Protection at the University of Thessaly. Her work includes research and presentations in nuclear medicine, oncology, and cardiovascular imaging at national and international conferences.

Prof. Dr. Siroos Mirzaei, MBA

Nuclear Medicine Physician

Nationality: Austria

2008: Master of Business Administration (MBA) , Economic University of Vienna 

HOD of Nuclear Medicine in Clinic Ottakring and Hietzing - Vienna/Austria

President elect of Austrian Society of Nuclear Medicine and Theranostics 

Ex-President of UEMS Section of NM (2019-2024)

Specialization in Nuclear Medicine 1994-1998 (Wilhelminenspital, Vienna)

Specilaization in General Medicine 1990-1994 (CHL-Luxembourg and Vienna)

1981-1987 Medical University of Vienne

Publicationslist:

http://publicationslist.org/siroos.mirzaei

AWARDS

1996: Elscint Programmier Förderungspreis

       „For the project “iterative reconstruction of SPECT-Data on an Elscint-Workstation“ 

                 together with the Medical Physicist of the Department“

1999: Mallinckrodt Förderungspreis Nuklearmedizin

2016 Silver Honorary mark of Vienna Physician Association

„AWARDS with Hemayat (as co-founder)“

2000: Solidaritätspreis von Erzdiözese Wien 

2008: Humanitätspreis des Roten Kreuzes

2009: Alexander Friedmann Preis 

2010: Dr. Karl Renner Preis 

2011: Dr. Bruno-Kreisky Preis

Medical degree from the School of Medicine at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Throughout the professional career, specialization has been directed toward advanced radioisotope therapeutic methodologies, with clinical responsibility for Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy (PRRT) and Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) at university hospitals in Greece.

Since 2022, professional duties have been performed within the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the German Medical Institute in Cyprus, with supervisory and active involvement in the Radioisotope Application Chamber. This unit provides a full spectrum of therapeutic Nuclear Medicine applications utilizing both alpha- and beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, with an emphasis on highly personalized and individualized patient care.  Additional expertise includes advanced PET/CT imaging, with particular focus on theragnostics approaches integrating targeted molecular imaging and therapy.

Recognized as a member of the Greek Center of Excellence and Expertise for Neuroendocrine Tumors, under the auspices of the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS).

Co-investigator in clinical trials evaluating beta-emitting radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of prostate cancer, as well as novel radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Tumors using PET/CT imaging.

Satoshi Minoshima, MD, PhD, is Professor and Anne G. Osborn Chair of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah, USA.  A global leader in molecular brain imaging, his pioneering work includes imaging characterization of neurodegenerative diseases and worldwide dissemination of statistical mapping software.  He has held numerous leadership roles, including President of the SNMMI, Chair of the SNMMI Scientific Program Committee, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the RSNA Research and Education Foundation, and Chair of the RSNA Molecular Imaging Committee.  He currently serves as Chair of the SNMMI Value Initiative, Secretary / Treasurer of the Academy for Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Research, and Vice President of the SNMMI Brain Imaging Council.  Dr. Minoshima’s honors include the Gold Medal of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS); SNMMI Marc Tetalman Memorial Award; Kuhl-Lassen Award; Henry Wagner Jr. Lecture Award; and RSNA Gold Medal.

Mike Sathekge, MBChB, MMed, FAMS, FSNMMI, Hon FCMSA, PhD (hc), PhD

Mike Sathekge is the Professor and head of Nuclear Medicine at University of Pretoria & Steve Biko Academic Hospital as well as the President & CEO of Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI). Mike has conducted several early phase clinical studies and is in the forefront regarding treatment with targeted alpha therapy. Prof Sathekge has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, excluding abstracts and book chapters. Mike is the Editor-in-Chief of Seminars in Nuclear Medicine. He is the head of the IAEA Anchor Center for Rays of Hope for Cancer care in South Africa. He is the Past President of WARMTH. He is the Chair of the Africa Health Research Institute and a recipient of numerous international and national merit awards. The most recent being honorary doctorate by the North West University and Fellow of The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

Bio comming soon

Bio comming soon

Bio comming soon