Jinyi Qi Receives Honors for Lifetime Contributions, Image of the Year

The Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging, or SNMMI, honored Professor of Biomedical Engineering Jinyi Qi twice during its annual meeting in Toronto, Ontario, this June. 

Qi received the society’s prestigious Edward J. Hoffman Award, which recognizes scientists and engineers who have made outstanding lifetime contributions to the research, development and education of nuclear medicine. In their award announcement, SNMMI made specific mention of Qi's continued impacts on the field through developing advanced computational tools for molecular imaging.   

“I am deeply honored and humbled to be the recipient of the 2024 Edward J. Hoffman Memorial Award," Qi said. "I am profoundly grateful to my mentors, collaborators, and trainees, whose contributions have been instrumental in making this achievement possible. This award inspires me to continue striving for excellence in developing cutting-edge technologies for molecular imaging."

SNMMI also celebrated Qi indirectly through the 2024 SNMMI Image of the Year Award. The winning photo is a grouping of several high-resolution images of the human brain taken with NeuroEXPLORER, or NX, a new ultrahigh-performing PET scanner with 10 times the sensitivity of current systems, for a project from Yale University researchers.  

Qi is the principal investigator from the University of California, Davis, on the NX project, which is a collaborative effort between Yale University, UC Davis and the United Imaging Healthcare of America to develop a next-generation dedicated brain scanner, with funding from the National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative Grant.

“Receiving the Image of the Year Award is a tremendous honor that underscores the groundbreaking potential of the NeuroEXPLORER PET scanner in advancing our understanding of the brain. Being the UC Davis PI for the project has been a deeply rewarding experience, and I am incredibly proud of our team's contributions to the field.”