World Molecular Imaging Congress 2026

JoAnne Flynn is a Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, from the University of California at Davis and a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Flynn’s first post-doc was with Dr. Magdalene So at the Scripps Clinic Research Institute and then a Howard Hughes Research Associate with Dr. Barry Bloom at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she began her studies in tuberculosis. She served as a Councilor for the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) and as President in 2018. Dr. Flynn is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiologists and a Distinguished Fellow of AAI.

Rebecca Richards-Kortum is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor and Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University. As the Co-Director of the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, she is dedicated to developing low-cost, high-performance health technologies for low-resource settings. Her pioneering work has provided vulnerable populations with access to life-saving innovations addressing diseases such as cervical and oral cancer, premature birth, and malaria. Dr. Richards-Kortum’s research has led to the development of 40 patents and over 315 refereed research papers.

Markus Schwaiger, MD, is Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Medicine. He received his medical training at the Medical School of the Free University of Berlin and completed his post-doctoral training at the University of Cincinnati followed by several fellowships in nuclear medicine and cardiology at UCLA School of Medicine. After his tenure as Director of Nuclear Cardiology at the University of Michigan from 1987-1993, he was Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the university hospital TUM Klinikum rechts der Isar in Munich until 2017. Since 2023 he has been President of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Gilbert Fruhwirth is Professor of Molecular Imaging in the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences at King’s College London where he leads the Imaging Therapies and Cancer group. He assumes responsibility as Education Lead for Cancer, is further affiliated with the School of Bioscience Education, and serves as Associate Editor for Molecular Therapy. Gilbert Fruhwirth studied Technical Chemistry with a focus on Biotechnology at Graz University of Technology, where he also completed his PhD in Biochemistry under the auspices of Prof Hermetter. In 2006, he joined The Richard Dimbleby Department of Cancer Studies led by Prof Tony Ng at King’s College London’s Randall Division of Cellular and Molecular Bioscience, where he studied protein-protein interactions important for cell migration while developing optical imaging tools to observe cancer spread. In 2013, he established his own research group at King’s College London’s Division of Imaging Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, focusing on the development of multimodal molecular imaging toolboxes dedicated to the in vivo tracking of diverse cell types. He holds long-standing expertise in advanced cell tracking in the cancer, immune, and stem cell arenas including methodologies suitable for clinical translation. Gilbert Fruhwirth received Tenure in 2016, was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018 and further to Reader in 2022 after joining the School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In 2025, he was appointed as Professor of Molecular Imaging. His research vision is exploiting multi-modal multi-scale imaging to advance the understanding of cancer and to boost the development and clinical translation of advanced therapies in oncology and immune medicine.

Salim Aymeric Si-Mohamed, MD, PhD, is a full professor in medical imaging at the University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and head of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Imaging Department at Louis Pradel Hospital in Lyon. Specializing in diagnostic and interventional imaging for cardiovascular and thoracic diseases, he primarily works with cutting-edge CT technology. Dr. Si-Mohamed’s experimental research focuses on the development of spectral CT technology, including spectral photon-counting CT and dual-energy CT systems, integrated with novel contrast agents for cardiovascular and thoracic applications. He earned his MD in 2016 and completed his PhD in 2020, with his doctoral research dedicated to the cardiovascular applications of spectral photon-counting CT technology. His groundbreaking work demonstrated the feasibility of color K-edge imaging for cardiovascular imaging, particularly in studying atherosclerosis. Dr. Si-Mohamed is an active member of several national and international research consortia, fostering multidisciplinary collaborations among academic, university, and industry partners. He has authored over 150 publications in leading international journals and conferences, focusing on both experimental and clinical spectral CT imaging. Dr. Si-Mohamed teaches the principles, techniques, and applications of spectral CT, mentoring MSc and PhD students. He is also the holder of an international patent. Recently he was awarded an ERC Starting Grant for the KOLOR SPCCT Imaging Project and an ERC Proof-of-concept Grant for the developement of a KOLOR Viewer, aimed at advancing comprehensive, one-breath-hold imaging of lung diseases using color K-edge imaging and dedicated contrast agents.

Michael F. Tweedle, PhD is Emeritus Stefanie Spielman Professor of Cancer Imaging and Professor of Radiology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and James Comprehensive Cancer Center. His education was at Knox College (BA Chemistry), Rice University (PhD Physical Chemistry) and Stanford University (NIH Research Service Fellow). His experience in diagnostic imaging began as a research scientist at New England Nuclear, Inc. In 1981 he invented the first catalyst for production of Tc radiopharmaceutical myocardial perfusion agents, and early targeted molecular imaging (MI) agents using monoclonal antibodies at NEN/DuPont Pharmaceuticals. In 1986, working with E.R. Squibb and Sons, he invented and developed the first novel macrocyclic GBCA (Gd-based MRI Contrast Agent), ProHance TM (gadoteridol), and the unsymmetrical macrocyle class (used in > 150 million MRI patients and in commercial 177 Lu radiotherapeutics). As President, CEO and chief scientist at Bracco Research USA Inc, he and his team created in early 2000s two new clnically tested Molecular Imaging agents: a first in class targeted theranostic for prostate and breast cancer ( 177 LuAMBA), and a first in class sub nM VEGF-R2 angiogenesis receptor-targeting peptide used in the targeted ultrasound contrast agent now in Phase-II clinical trials (BR55). He transiioned toacademics in 2009, focusing research on cancer imaging theranostics and teaching in entrepreneurial development. He is Associate Editor for contrast agents for the journals, Radiology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Investigative Radiology, served on NIH study sections in SBIR and Image Guided Therapy, has served on Expert Councils at the US Pharmacopeia, the elected Boards and as Officer of four professional societies, academic Scientific Advisory Boards in molecular Imaging, and on Scientific Advisory and governing Boards of public and private biopharmaceutical and chemical companies, and served on the Dean’s Scientific Advisory Board of New York University’s School of Science. He has authored over 200 publications including 105 peer-reviewed original research papers, 40 issued US patents (8 pending), 13 book chapters, and 40 reviews and editorials, with >10,000 citations and an H-Index of 54. He was awarded The Harry Fischer Medal in 2005, elected a Fellow of the World Molecular Imaging Society in 2023, and elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2023.