Dr. Munir Ghesani
Q&A with Dr. Munir Ghesani, president-elect SNMMI
June 10, 2022
by Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief
From June 11-14, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) will hold its annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, bringing together an array of experts from across the industry. From groundbreaking research to legislative initiatives and evolving best practices, there will be much to discuss. In order to get a glimpse at what the meeting has in store, and what the organization will be focused on looking ahead to the next year, HealthCare Business News spoke with president-elect, Dr. Munir Ghesani.
HCB News: Who or what inspired you to follow a career in healthcare?
Dr. Munir Ghesani: My aunt, who has a Ph.D. in botanic medicine, inspired me to follow a career in healthcare. It is common for a growing child to have very diverse and imaginative ideas about what they want to pursue as their career. Similarly, I had various thoughts about a career path, including electronic engineer and cricket player. (I grew up in the western part of India — cricket is very popular in India, and the professional players in this sport are celebrities.) My aunt would sit me down and talk about healthcare, a noble profession with the opportunity to positively impact the health and well-being of the population. As I thought more about it, I eventually chose this opportunity over the excitement of being a celebrity!
HCB News: What drew you to nuclear medicine?
MG: My path to nuclear medicine was not straight. After finishing medical school, I did radiology residency training in India. During my radiology training, my only exposure to nuclear medicine was seeing a few renal scans performed on a rectilinear scanner.
My first training in the USA was in internal medicine. I completed three years of internal medicine training, passed internal medicine board examinations, and was considering a cardiology fellowship — in fact, I had already been accepted as a fellow in my third year of training. At that time I was responsible for inviting grand round speakers in cardiology, and one of the speakers I invited was Dr. Gordon DePuey, who was division chief and residency program director of nuclear medicine at St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center (now part of Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, where I currently practice nuclear medicine). After his grand round presentation, I took Dr. DePuey out for lunch, and in that hour he convinced me to pursue nuclear medicine. Subsequently, he accepted me as a resident in his training program. I am eternally grateful to him for steering me to nuclear medicine!
HCB News: How long have you been a member of SNMMI?
MG: I’ve been a member of SNMMI since I started nuclear medicine training in 1993.
HCB News: What do you most appreciate about being a member of SNMMI?
MG: SNMMI is a unique organization. While the benefits of SNMMI membership are too many to enumerate, what I appreciate the most is the diverse backgrounds of SNMMI’s membership, including physicians, scientists, pharmacists, technologists and lab professionals. It is an absolute pleasure working with the SNMMI’s staff and leadership, who are heavily invested in not only supporting the society’s membership but also advancing nuclear medicine and working with nuclear medicine professionals to improve patient care.
HCB News: What kind of initiatives will you be spearheading as president?
MG: As SNMMI president, I plan to focus on raising public awareness of nuclear medicine, engaging patients and patient advocates, increasing recognition of SNMMI as the leading global nuclear medicine organization, and working closely with regulators to streamline approval of promising new diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and to improve reimbursement by CMS.
HCB News: What are the biggest challenges facing members today?
MG: The highest-level issues faced by nuclear medicine professionals include lags in reimbursement, even after FDA approval; limited coverage of high-value radiopharmaceuticals for which pass-through status has expired; and the need to educate hospital administration and department leadership to prepare for major growth of theranostics.
SNMMI urges patients and caregivers, physicians, and healthcare organizations to act now to support the bipartisan FIND Act, which if passed will ensure patient access to nuclear medicine scans that can change the course of their treatment.
HCB News: I know from our previous conversations that reimbursement challenges have been a long-term focus for you, will that continue in your new role?
MG: Yes, absolutely!
HCB News: How has the pandemic impacted nuclear medicine?
MG: Nuclear medicine has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. Our technologists, trainees, and practicing nuclear medicine physicians continued to provide necessary service to our patients despite the inherent risks being on the front line; some have acquiring COVID-19 infection with serious consequences. Our procedure volume decreased, and some of the procedures — deemed higher risk — were temporarily discontinued. In addition to the challenges with personal protective equipment, we had intermittent supply issues with radiopharmaceuticals. Soon after the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, the SNMMI created a COVID-19 Task Force, which has worked very actively to keep a pulse on the situation, providing detailed recommendations on ensuring the safety of patients and healthcare workers and providing guidance on the implications of the COVID-19 infection and vaccines on potential false positive imaging interpretations. I am delighted to report that the nuclear medicine community has emerged stronger than ever, becoming more resilient and incorporating some of the best practices learned during various ups and downs of the pandemic into permanent workflow.
HCB News: Do you have any advice for SNMMI attendees hoping to make the most of this year's meeting?
MG: I recommend that attendees explore all available tracks and options being offered at the meeting rather than attending sessions only in their own area of interest/expertise. The Scientific Program Committee worked very hard to provide diverse tracks and programs to create a very enriching and holistic experience for the attendees.
I highly recommend that attendees spend some time reviewing the program in advance of the meeting so that they can create the best experience for themselves. Note that the program includes longer, in-depth categorical seminars on Saturday, June 11, on eight topics ranging from infection/inflammation to theranostics to dosimetry.
Be sure to attend some of the many scientific abstract sessions to encourage and appreciate the work being done by trainees, early career professionals and experts in the field to advance nuclear medicine.
HCB News: What are you most looking forward to at the meeting?
MG: I am really looking forward to reconnecting with friends and colleagues, after several years of separation enforced by the pandemic. I am eager to thank our leadership in person for all their hard work navigating our Society and membership through the difficult times. The discipline of nuclear medicine is stronger than ever, and its future is brighter than ever.
I am also very eager to immerse myself in the meetings and sessions and soak up as much information as I can. In fact, I will be moderating a scientific session at the meeting — this will be my protected time to engage in the scientific program outside of my leadership responsibilities!
HCB News: Is there any particular moment in your career that stands out above the rest?
MG: Yes. My father died of advanced prostate cancer at the height of the pandemic in May 2020. Nasrin Ghesani, who is my sister and a nuclear medicine colleague, and I tried to enroll our father in a trial of targeted radionuclide therapy using Lu-177 PSMA — but unfortunately, he did not qualify for this treatment because the PSMA PET/CT scan he underwent failed to show the receptor expression. Since then, we have enrolled and treated more than 40 patients in the expanded access program of this therapy, and we have seen a remarkable difference in the outcome of the patients who are being treated.
Most of my previous career has focused predominantly on diagnostic nuclear medicine; however, for the past several years I have been increasingly involved in targeted radionuclide therapies. Seeing the patients initially for consultation and realizing noticeable change in their outcome and their outlook after radionuclide therapies has been tremendously rewarding and gratifying. My sister and I are convinced that our father is smiling down on us for providing much-needed therapy to eligible patients, something he unfortunately could not benefit from.
HCB News: Who or what inspired you to follow a career in healthcare?
Dr. Munir Ghesani: My aunt, who has a Ph.D. in botanic medicine, inspired me to follow a career in healthcare. It is common for a growing child to have very diverse and imaginative ideas about what they want to pursue as their career. Similarly, I had various thoughts about a career path, including electronic engineer and cricket player. (I grew up in the western part of India — cricket is very popular in India, and the professional players in this sport are celebrities.) My aunt would sit me down and talk about healthcare, a noble profession with the opportunity to positively impact the health and well-being of the population. As I thought more about it, I eventually chose this opportunity over the excitement of being a celebrity!
HCB News: What drew you to nuclear medicine?
MG: My path to nuclear medicine was not straight. After finishing medical school, I did radiology residency training in India. During my radiology training, my only exposure to nuclear medicine was seeing a few renal scans performed on a rectilinear scanner.
My first training in the USA was in internal medicine. I completed three years of internal medicine training, passed internal medicine board examinations, and was considering a cardiology fellowship — in fact, I had already been accepted as a fellow in my third year of training. At that time I was responsible for inviting grand round speakers in cardiology, and one of the speakers I invited was Dr. Gordon DePuey, who was division chief and residency program director of nuclear medicine at St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center (now part of Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, where I currently practice nuclear medicine). After his grand round presentation, I took Dr. DePuey out for lunch, and in that hour he convinced me to pursue nuclear medicine. Subsequently, he accepted me as a resident in his training program. I am eternally grateful to him for steering me to nuclear medicine!
HCB News: How long have you been a member of SNMMI?
MG: I’ve been a member of SNMMI since I started nuclear medicine training in 1993.
HCB News: What do you most appreciate about being a member of SNMMI?
MG: SNMMI is a unique organization. While the benefits of SNMMI membership are too many to enumerate, what I appreciate the most is the diverse backgrounds of SNMMI’s membership, including physicians, scientists, pharmacists, technologists and lab professionals. It is an absolute pleasure working with the SNMMI’s staff and leadership, who are heavily invested in not only supporting the society’s membership but also advancing nuclear medicine and working with nuclear medicine professionals to improve patient care.
HCB News: What kind of initiatives will you be spearheading as president?
MG: As SNMMI president, I plan to focus on raising public awareness of nuclear medicine, engaging patients and patient advocates, increasing recognition of SNMMI as the leading global nuclear medicine organization, and working closely with regulators to streamline approval of promising new diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals and to improve reimbursement by CMS.
HCB News: What are the biggest challenges facing members today?
MG: The highest-level issues faced by nuclear medicine professionals include lags in reimbursement, even after FDA approval; limited coverage of high-value radiopharmaceuticals for which pass-through status has expired; and the need to educate hospital administration and department leadership to prepare for major growth of theranostics.
SNMMI urges patients and caregivers, physicians, and healthcare organizations to act now to support the bipartisan FIND Act, which if passed will ensure patient access to nuclear medicine scans that can change the course of their treatment.
HCB News: I know from our previous conversations that reimbursement challenges have been a long-term focus for you, will that continue in your new role?
MG: Yes, absolutely!
HCB News: How has the pandemic impacted nuclear medicine?
MG: Nuclear medicine has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. Our technologists, trainees, and practicing nuclear medicine physicians continued to provide necessary service to our patients despite the inherent risks being on the front line; some have acquiring COVID-19 infection with serious consequences. Our procedure volume decreased, and some of the procedures — deemed higher risk — were temporarily discontinued. In addition to the challenges with personal protective equipment, we had intermittent supply issues with radiopharmaceuticals. Soon after the World Health Organization announced COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, the SNMMI created a COVID-19 Task Force, which has worked very actively to keep a pulse on the situation, providing detailed recommendations on ensuring the safety of patients and healthcare workers and providing guidance on the implications of the COVID-19 infection and vaccines on potential false positive imaging interpretations. I am delighted to report that the nuclear medicine community has emerged stronger than ever, becoming more resilient and incorporating some of the best practices learned during various ups and downs of the pandemic into permanent workflow.
HCB News: Do you have any advice for SNMMI attendees hoping to make the most of this year's meeting?
MG: I recommend that attendees explore all available tracks and options being offered at the meeting rather than attending sessions only in their own area of interest/expertise. The Scientific Program Committee worked very hard to provide diverse tracks and programs to create a very enriching and holistic experience for the attendees.
I highly recommend that attendees spend some time reviewing the program in advance of the meeting so that they can create the best experience for themselves. Note that the program includes longer, in-depth categorical seminars on Saturday, June 11, on eight topics ranging from infection/inflammation to theranostics to dosimetry.
Be sure to attend some of the many scientific abstract sessions to encourage and appreciate the work being done by trainees, early career professionals and experts in the field to advance nuclear medicine.
HCB News: What are you most looking forward to at the meeting?
MG: I am really looking forward to reconnecting with friends and colleagues, after several years of separation enforced by the pandemic. I am eager to thank our leadership in person for all their hard work navigating our Society and membership through the difficult times. The discipline of nuclear medicine is stronger than ever, and its future is brighter than ever.
I am also very eager to immerse myself in the meetings and sessions and soak up as much information as I can. In fact, I will be moderating a scientific session at the meeting — this will be my protected time to engage in the scientific program outside of my leadership responsibilities!
HCB News: Is there any particular moment in your career that stands out above the rest?
MG: Yes. My father died of advanced prostate cancer at the height of the pandemic in May 2020. Nasrin Ghesani, who is my sister and a nuclear medicine colleague, and I tried to enroll our father in a trial of targeted radionuclide therapy using Lu-177 PSMA — but unfortunately, he did not qualify for this treatment because the PSMA PET/CT scan he underwent failed to show the receptor expression. Since then, we have enrolled and treated more than 40 patients in the expanded access program of this therapy, and we have seen a remarkable difference in the outcome of the patients who are being treated.
Most of my previous career has focused predominantly on diagnostic nuclear medicine; however, for the past several years I have been increasingly involved in targeted radionuclide therapies. Seeing the patients initially for consultation and realizing noticeable change in their outcome and their outlook after radionuclide therapies has been tremendously rewarding and gratifying. My sister and I are convinced that our father is smiling down on us for providing much-needed therapy to eligible patients, something he unfortunately could not benefit from.