High Country continues to attract and blend experts from academia and industry, with leaders in medical specialties, the regulatory agencies and health care researchers in an informal setting to facilitate dialog and an exchange of ideas. The meeting consists of six to seven hours of structured sessions per day (8 sessions total). In between sessions, roundtable discussions will be held and there are ample opportunities for independent meetings and networking. The 2026 meeting, with anticipated attendance of 100 participants, promises to open avenues and opportunities of collaboration on a variety of issues important to the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community while allowing interaction and networking.
Over the course of four days, the High Country Nuclear Medicine Conference will offer 27 hours of content. No CE Credit will be offered at the 2026 Conference. The 2026 Conference will only be held in-person.
Preliminary 2026 Program
*All times will be in Mountain Time. Schedule Subject to Change.
Saturday, February 28, 2026
6:30 AM – 7:00 AM Breakfast with Vendors
7:00 AM – 9:30 AM PET Imaging in Mental Health
Session Description: This session will focus on current topics on PET imaging in mental health with experts from both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Recent applications of PET tracers applied to several facets of brain health including addictions, brain injuries, neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as how PET is being used to derisk drug development in brain illnesses including neurodegenerative diseases will be topics for discussion.
PET in neuroscience and neuro-oncology drug development
Speaker: Magnus Schou, PhD
Trauma and Addiction: A PET Imaging Perspective
Speaker: Isabelle Boileau, PhD
Accelerating CNS drug development with PET: A fast to fail framework
Speaker: Karl Schmidt, PhD
Neuroepigenetics and PET imaging (tentative title)
Speaker: Nicole Zurcher Wimmer, PhD
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable: Training the Next Generation Scientists and Physicians
Lead: Michael Graham, MD, PhD
Additional Participants: Cathy Cutler, PhD FSRS, FSNMMI and Carlos Uribe, PhD, MCCPM
4:00 PM – 7:30 PM State-of-the-Art Nuclear Cardiology: Where We Are in 2026
Session Description: In this high-country setting, cardiologists and PhD scientists will explore the current position of nuclear cardiology in 2026, highlighting state-of-the-art PET imaging with new perfusion tracers, emerging threats from competing modalities, and novel applications beyond traditional perfusion imaging. The session will provide insights into how innovation and cross-modality integration are shaping the future of nuclear cardiology.
Can we save Nuclear Cardiology from CTA?
Speaker: Piotr Slomka, PhD
New cardiac PET perfusion Tracers
Speaker: Panithaya Chareonthaitawee, MD
Back-to-back cardiac PET stress/rest
Speaker: Dan Kadrmas, PhD
Total body cardiovascular PET
Speaker: Richard Weinberg, MD
Imaging of fibrosis and thrombosis in myocardial infarction and stroke
Speaker: David Newby, MD
Sunday, March 1, 2026
6:30 AM – 7:00 AM Breakfast with Vendors
7:00 AM – 9:30 AM AI in Nuclear Medicine
Session Description: The technological advances in AI are both fast and extensive, and our session will focus on how AI is being utilized in Nuclear Medicine. We will shine a spotlight on three distinct areas, presenting just enough of the technical basics to set the stage for discussions on the benefits and pitfalls, both experienced and anticipated.
AI for image enhancement
Speaker: Joyitta Dutta, PhD
Large language and multimodal models in nuclear medicine.
Speaker: Tyler Bradshaw, PhD
AI in Theranostics
Speaker: Julia Brosch-Lenz, PhD
Panel Discussion: Round-Table Discussion with Q&A
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable: Special Topic in Oncology
Lead: Michael Graham, MD, PhD
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM Hal O’Brien Rising Star Session & Award Ceremony
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Society Leaders Session
Session Description: Challenges and Opportunities for future, attraction and retention of talent, what do ECRs want and need to thrive, etc.
Participants: Panithaya Chareonthaitawee, MD and Bital Savir-Baruch, MD, FACNM
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Sunday Night Dinner Open to all in-person attendees with meeting registration. Additional tickets available for guests.
Monday, March 2, 2026
6:30 AM – 7:00 AM Breakfast with Vendors
7:00 AM – 9:30 AM Navigating the Varying Regulatory Changes and Opportunities
Session Description: Ongoing regulatory and legislature changes are offering new opportunities as the change in political landscape is driving significant legal policy changes at both federal and state levels. These changes and their impacts will be discussed.
SNMMI Regulatory Activities for 2026
Speaker: Cathy Cutler, PhD FSRS, FSNMMI
ASNC Regulatory & Policy Priorities for 2026
Speaker: Kathy Flood, ASNC & Georgia Lawrence, JD , Regulatory Affairs for ASNC
Rx/Dx and the Changing Regulatory Face of Radiopharmaceutical Development
Speaker: Adrian Nunn, PhD
NRC 2025 Medical Events Discussed
Speaker: Daniel Dimarco
Panel Discussion: Regulatory Changes and Opportunities Where does this take us?
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable: Dosimetry
Co-Leads: Stephen Graves, PhD, DABR and Carlos Uribe, PhD, MCCPM
4:00 PM- 7:30 PM Radiotherapy Session
Session Description: With alpha-emitter radioligand therapy (RLT) gaining momentum, this session brings together clinicians, scientists, and safety experts to explore the expanding role of alpha-emitters in oncology. Talks will span comparative perspectives of alpha versus beta therapies, transformative clinical evidence in prostate cancer, expanding applications to other malignancies, and innovations in imaging and dosimetry. The program will conclude with practical considerations for building safe, effective alpha therapy practice.
Setting the Stage: Alpha, Beta, and Beyond in Radioligand Therapy
Speaker: Bital Savir-Baruch, MD, FACNM
Transforming Prostate Cancer Care with Alpha Therapy
Speaker: Amir Irvani, MD
Expanding Horizons: Alpha Therapy Beyond Prostate Cancer
Speaker: Hossein Jadvar, MD, PhD, MPH, MBA, MSL
Precision Matters: Imaging and Dosimetry in Alpha-Emitter Radiopharmaceutical Therapy
Speaker: Brian Miller, PhD
Building Safe Practice: Operational and Safety Considerations in Alpha Therapy
Speaker: Langley Yard
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
6:30 AM – 7:00 AM Breakfast with Vendors
7:00 AM – 9:30 AM New molecular targets in nuclear oncology: Unresolved challenges and potential opportunities
Session Description: In the past decade there has been an explosion of interest in radiopharmaceutical imaging and therapy with the focus primarily on neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer. The focus on these malignancies provides the opportunity to address other malignancies where there is still an unmet clinical need, either because there remain unresolved challenges with the current approaches or because they affect smaller populations. This session will address some of these challenges.
Challenges and opportunities in pediatric nuclear oncology
Speaker: Alan B. Packard, PhD
Revisiting on on-going challenge: New opportunities in the treatment of thyroid cancer
Speaker: Ephraim Parent, MD, PhD
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Roundtable: Role of Foundation Support
Co-Leads: Jamie Eberling, Michael J. Fox Foundation & Kristophe Diaz, CurePSP
4:00 PM- 7:30 PM Neurodegenerative Diseases
Session Description: This session will take attendees on a guided tour through the brain’s most notorious troublemakers—amyloid, tau, alpha-synuclein, and more—spanning Alzheimer’s, MS, and movement disorders. Experts will unpack real-world imaging of disease-modifying therapies, decode the mysteries of frontal temporal dementias, and spotlight neuroinflammation and primary tauopathies. With cutting-edge tracers and sharp minds at the helm, this session promises to be anything but forgettable.
Real World Experience of Disease modifying therapies and amyloid/tau imaging
Speaker: Ana Franceschi, MD, PhD
Frontal temporal Dementias
Speaker: Jennifer Whitwell, PhD
Primary Tauopathies
Speaker: Nico Franzmeier, PhD
Neuroinflammation
Speaker: Gérard Bischof, PhD
Imaging tracers for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement disorders
Speaker: Roger Gunn, BSc, PhD