image: Shannon Youngblood, EdD, MSRS, CNMT, RT(CT)(ARRT), takes office as President-Elect of the SNMMI Technologist Section.
Credit: Image courtsey of SNMMI.
NEW ORLEANS (June 22, 2025)—Shannon Youngblood, EdD, MSRS, CNMT, RT(CT)(ARRT), Fusion Lead Technologist at Ochsner M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been elected as president-elect of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section (SNMMI-TS). The new slate of officers was introduced during the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s 2025 Annual Meeting, held June 21-24 in New Orleans.
As president-elect, Youngblood will focus on three core goals: elevating visibility and recognition of nuclear medicine professionals through advocacy at local and national levels; promoting a more inclusive and diverse workforce by creating equitable opportunities; and advancing education and professional development to keep pace with emerging practices such as theranostics.
“I believe these priorities are essential to the future of nuclear medicine because they address both our current and future challenges and opportunities,” stated Youngblood. “I have a deep respect for our profession. If we effectively address these priorities, I am confident that we can build a stronger, more unified field.”
Youngblood attended the Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, NC, where she earned her Associate of Applied Science degree. She then received her bachelor’s degree in Health Studies and Radiologic Sciences from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, followed by a master’s in Radiologic Sciences from Northwestern State University of Louisiana in Natchitoches. She received her doctor of education in Health Professions from A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Missouri.
Youngblood started her career as an assistant professor of Nuclear Medicine Imaging Sciences at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, where she still teaches. In 2018, she was a nuclear medicine technologist at the Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans and a nuclear medicine/PET-CT Technologist at the Ochsner Medical Center in Baton Rouge, before moving to her current position at Ochsner.
Youngblood has been involved in SNMMI since 2012, when she became a member of the Technologist Advocacy Group. Since then, she has served on the Uptake Editorial Board and the Bylaws Committee, and she became secretary of the SNMMI-TS Executive Board and National Council of Representatives in 2024. Youngblood has also been involved in the Southwest Chapter, beginning in 2014, when she became a board member of the Leadership Academy Committee and then completed the academy herself. She has been chapter president and board member and has served as program chair for several educational symposia.
Youngblood holds professional certifications as a Louisiana Fusion Technologist and from the Louisiana State Radiologic Technology Board. She has a CNMT certification from the Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board and a CT certification from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.
The SNMMI Technologist Section president for 2025-26 is Cybil Nielsen, MBA, CNMT, FSNMMI-TS, from Long Beach, Mississippi. Elected to leadership of SNMMI for 2025-26 were Jean-Luc C. Urbain, MD, PhD, FASNC, Buffalo, New York, as president; Heather Jacene, MD, Boston, Massachusetts, as president-elect; and Gary Ulaner, MD, PhD, FSNMMI, Laguna Hills, California, as vice president-elect.
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About the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics—precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit snmmi.org.