Mars Shot for Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging, and Molecularly Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Therapy

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging created the Value Initiative in 2017 as a major component of its strategic plan to further demonstrate the value of molecular imaging and molecularly targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy to patients, physicians, payers, and funding agencies. The research and discovery domain, 1 of 5 under the Value Initiative, has a goal of advancing the research and development of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine. Research and discovery efforts and achievements are essential to ensure a bright future for NM and to translate science to practice. Given the remarkable progress in the field, leaders from the research and discovery domain and society councils identified 5 broad areas of opportunity with potential for substantive growth and clinical impact. This article discusses these 5 growth areas, identifying specific areas of particularly high importance for future study and development. As there was an understanding that goals should be both visionary yet achievable, this effort was called the Mars shot for nuclear medicine.