Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah to deliver ASNC2026 memorial lecture in Las Vegas

By AI, Created 10:37 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – Mouaz H. Al-Mallah will present the Mario Verani Memorial Lecture at the 2026 American Society of Nuclear Cardiology annual meeting in Las Vegas, where he will focus on how nuclear cardiology is adapting to multimodality imaging, AI and broader access challenges. The session is scheduled for Sept. 17 during ASNC2026’s opening plenary.

Why it matters: - The lecture will spotlight how nuclear cardiology is evolving as cardiovascular imaging becomes more multimodal. - The address will also frame access to advanced imaging, geographic disparities in care and workforce training as central issues for the next decade. - ASNC says the Mario Verani Memorial Lecture is one of the society’s highest honors.

What happened: - Mouaz H. Al-Mallah, MD, MSc, MASNC, will present the Mario Verani Memorial Lecture at ASNC2026. - His lecture is titled “From Perfusion to Precision: Charting the Future of Nuclear Cardiology in a Multimodality World.” - The lecture will take place during the Opening Plenary Session on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. - ASNC2026 runs Sept. 16-19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. - Attendees can register for the event in person or virtually.

The details: - The lecture will cover the role of nuclear cardiology in a cardiovascular imaging landscape increasingly shaped by multimodality care. - Al-Mallah will point to nuclear cardiology as one of the most widely used noninvasive cardiac imaging modalities. - The talk will emphasize evidence supporting nuclear cardiology across a broad range of clinical indications. - The presentation will highlight emerging PET and SPECT radiotracers. - The lecture will also address the growing role of artificial intelligence in test selection and image interpretation. - The talk will outline a roadmap focused on expanding access to advanced imaging. - The roadmap also calls for reducing geographic disparities in care. - The roadmap includes training the next generation of cardiovascular imagers. - Al-Mallah will call on the nuclear cardiology community to keep raising imaging quality standards. - Al-Mallah is director of the Cardiovascular PET Program and associate director of the Mario Verani Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center. - Since launching the PET program in 2020, Al-Mallah has advanced digital PET imaging and new radiotracers for myocardial perfusion, blood flow, viability, and inflammatory and infectious cardiovascular conditions. - He also holds faculty roles at Houston Methodist Academic Institute and Weill Cornell Medicine. - His honors include the Best Teacher Award from Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in 2019 and 2020, plus the Hermann Blumgart Award and the Outstanding Educator Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. - Al-Mallah serves as deputy editor of JACC: Advances, senior associate editor of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, and associate editor of the European Heart Journal. - He has authored or coauthored more than 600 articles and book chapters. - His work spans nuclear cardiology, cardiac PET, cardiac CT, coronary artery calcium scoring and cardiac MRI. - Al-Mallah served as ASNC president in 2023.

Between the lines: - The lecture positions nuclear cardiology as a field with staying power even as other imaging tools gain ground. - The focus on AI, new tracers and digital PET suggests the specialty is trying to stay central by improving precision and expanding use cases. - The access and training themes signal that technical progress alone will not solve uneven availability of advanced imaging. - The memorial lecture also serves as a recognition of Al-Mallah’s influence in research, education and clinical practice. - More information is available from ASNC.

What’s next: - Al-Mallah will deliver the lecture at the ASNC2026 Opening Plenary Session in Las Vegas. - ASNC2026 attendees can follow the presentation in person or online. - The broader field is expected to continue focusing on access, quality and multimodality integration over the next decade.