Two leaders in imaging science at Vanderbilt University are among 37 recipients of the 2015 Distinguished Investigator Award from the Academy of Radiology Research (ARR), academy officials announced last week.
They are J. Jeffrey Carr, M.D., M.Sc., the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, and H. Charles Manning, Ph.D., Vanderbilt Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research.
Carr and Manning will be inducted into the Academy’s Council of Distinguished Investigators during the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America this fall in Chicago. They join four other Vanderbilt faculty members who previously received the award, created in 2012.
“We are delighted that the profound contributions of Drs. Carr and Manning to radiology research are being recognized nationally through this prestigious award,” said Reed Omary, M.D., M.S., chair of the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences.
“These forward-thinking scientists in Radiology and Radiological Sciences are hard-wired with a passion to generate impactful discoveries,” said Omary, the Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and a 2013 award recipient.
Carr, who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2013, is also professor of Biomedical Informatics and Medicine. A graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, his research focuses on developing imaging techniques to identify people at high risk for heart disease.
“Clinical science is a team sport and I have been so fortunate to have the guidance and collaboration of some accomplished colleagues from many disciplines,” Carr said.
“Evidence-based application of imaging has made major gains over the past decade,” he added, “and I am incredibly excited by how Vanderbilt can lead the way to improve health through integrating imaging phenotypes with ‘omics’ and population health applications.”
Manning, a Vanderbilt faculty member since 2006, is also associate professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Neurological Surgery. He directs the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Probes. His lab is developing and translating new PET imaging radiopharmaceuticals to serve as precision imaging diagnostics of cancer.
“As with any translational science, advancing new radiopharmaceuticals from discovery to patients not only requires embracing team-science, but quite frankly, being highly motivated by it,” Manning said. “Vanderbilt is one of the unique places in the world where a program like our can flourish.
“Though humbling and a tremendous honor, this award is more a testament to my numerous mentors, colleagues and friends at Vanderbilt whose tireless contributions across many basic and clinical disciplines make our program a success,” he added.
John Gore, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS) and Hertha Ramsey Cress University Professor, said Manning’s election to the academy “recognizes his outstanding contributions to translational molecular imaging and the impact of Vanderbilt in this important field.”
Gore received the Distinguished Investigator Award in 2013 along with Omary, who also is a member of the ARR Board of Directors.
Other Vanderbilt recipients of the award are Bruce Damon, Ph.D., associate professor of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, and Thomas Yankeelov, Ph.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and director of Cancer Imaging Research. They were honored last year.