Chandigarh:
Prof. Baljinder Singh from the Department of Nuclear Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh has been honored with the prestigious Dynamic Molecule Award 2025 at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), held in New Orleans, USA, from 21–24 June 2025. The award was conferred by the Indo-American Society of Nuclear Medicine (IASNM) for his pioneering research paper titled “Potential of 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT in the Evaluation of Minimal Residual Disease in Multiple Myeloma Patients Following Post-Induction Therapy – First Results.”
In addition, Prof. Baljinder was conferred the Special Honor Award by IASNM for his remarkable contributions to the advancement of Nuclear Medicine at both national and international levels.
Expressing happiness, Prof Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER stated, “This international recognition is a proud moment for PGIMER and a testament to the high-impact, translational research being undertaken at the institute. Prof. Baljinder’s work exemplifies how cutting-edge science can directly enhance patient care and diagnostic accuracy in complex diseases like multiple myeloma.”
This research represents a collaborative effort involving the Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hematology, and Clinical Oncology & Hematology, and is part of the PhD work conducted by Harneet Kaur. The study provides valuable insights by illustrating the advantages of 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT over 18F-FDG PET/CT in several areas, including enhanced lesion detection, increased tracer uptake and image contrast, improved disease detection, more effective response assessment, and evaluation of minimal residual disease (MRD).
Furthermore, this research establishes a foundation for future work, and Professor Pankaj Malhotra is strongly supportive of incorporating 68Ga-Pentixafor PET/CT imaging along with the proposed response criteria into the existing diagnostic and response assessment standards outlined in the IMWG guidelines for disease evaluation.
Additionally, Harneet Kaur was previously recognized with the esteemed Alavi-Takalkar-Kumar award during the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine-India, as well as the young investigator travel award from the International Society of Multiple Myeloma at their meeting held in Brazil last year.
