Collaborations, guidelines and grants: ASNC shares big plans for 2026
The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) is entering 2026 with an ambitious agenda to expand international collaborations, release new clinical guidelines and fund innovative research, according to ASNC President-elect Jamieson M. Bourque, MD, medical director of nuclear cardiology, echocardiography and the stress laboratory at UVA Health and professor of medicine and radiology at the University of Virginia.
Bourque said ASNC is building on its growing global footprint, noting that the society had representatives from 94 countries attend its 2025 annual meeting in September.
“We are very excited to collaborate with our global partners,” he said. “We’re continuing to foster robust partnerships across South and Central America, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and Europe.”
A centerpiece of ASNC’s international engagement will be when it co-hosts the International Congress of Nuclear Cardiology with the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM). The meeting is scheduled May 17–19, 2026, in Berlin, bringing together nuclear cardiology experts from around the world to address the field’s most pressing clinical and technological challenges.
On the clinical front, ASNC is preparing to release several new guidelines in 2026, including updated recommendations for stress testing protocols and radiotracers for both SPECT and PET imaging.
“It’s an exciting time for new guidance from ASNC,” Bourque said, explaining that these documents will help standardize best practices and ensure high-quality imaging across nuclear imaging modalities.
To strengthen the evidence base supporting these practices, ASNC is also investing in new research-funding initiatives. The ASNC Clinical Research Grants will provide $25,000 to early-career members to support educational and research efforts, while the ASNC Discover Grant will award $75,000 to foster innovation and generate preliminary data for high-impact studies.
"We really think it's critical for us to strengthen the evidence right now. These new grants will foster innovation and hopefully spur some preliminary data for some high impact research that will really move the needle," he said.
In addition to grant support, ASNC will be facilitating collaboration among key opinion leaders and industry partners to generate prospective data that will inform future guidelines and expand the clinical value of cardiac imaging.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]