SRS Immediate Past President, Yasuhisa Fujibayashi
It is surprising for me that my two-year term as President of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences has come to the end. Dr. Albert D. Windhorst, Head of Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam Netherlands, has begun his term as the new SRS President. Dr. Windhorst is a young and active researcher and leader in the field, and his ability has already been demonstrated through his role as Chairman of ISRS 2011. I believe that he will bring a breath of fresh air into our Society.
I served as the fourth President following the establishment of the SRS, and it has been a period of stabilization as well as a period of preparation for next steps. Fortunately, our financial condition and member numbers have been healthy during my term. This cannot be realized without the continuous and effective efforts of the Board of Directors, especially SRS Officers: Drs. Wynn Volkert, Albert D. Windhorst, Sally Schwarz and Eyal Mishani. Close cooperation with Mr. Charles Metzger, SRS Executive Director, has been also an essential part of my job. I would like to express my deep appreciation to all of them for their support.
During my term, a new relationship was created between the SRS and Elsevier, publisher of Nuclear Medicine and Biology. This was a big challenge for the Society and involved a contract revision responsive to young, paperless-age members. SRS leadership believe that this renegotiated contract will also positively affect the financial future of the Society.
The establishment of an “Emeritus” category of SRS membership was a response to the maturation of the Society. Members who have accumulated at least five consecutive years of SRS membership and who have fully retired from the field of radiopharmaceutical sciences but who wish to remain members of the SRS may become Emeritus Members.
Now, it is time to make a leap forward. I look forward to working with Dr. Albert Windhorst, the new SRS President, as he leads the Society with a new wisdom, dream and enthusiasm.