Japan Prize goes topioneer in PET andmolecular imaging

The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan has awarded the 2009 Japan Prize to two North American scientists: Dr. David E. Kuhl, professor of radiology, University of Michigan Medical School; and Dennis L. Meadows, Ph.D., professor emeritus of systems policy, University of New Hampshire.

Kuhl, 79, was honored for his contribution to tomographic imaging in nuclear medicine in the category considering “technological integration of medical science and engineering.” Meadows was recognized for his “contribution to a sustainable society in harmony with nature” outlined in the influential 1972 report, The Limits to Growth.

Kuhl was pleased with the foundation’s decision to honor and recognize the advancing field of molecular imaging, he said.

“In molecular imaging, there’s a hope and expectation that these new noninvasive ways of determining how things work in small internal parts of the body will be key methods for developing new drugs and for managing patients with more individualized, personalized treatment, and that it will have a far greater impact eventually on medicine, through the kinds of information it provides, than we expect from the technology alone now,” he said.

For a video interview with Kuhl about the development of his research, you can go to the following web link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=23XjycC8g7g.

Each laureate will receive a certificate of recognition, a commemorative medal and a cash award of ¥50 million (about US$550,000) at an award ceremony in Tokyo on 23 April.

The prestigious Japan Prize is awarded to living individuals, from any part of the world, whose “original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.”