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Malibu surfside news | October 11, 2018 | 11
Familiar face visits the Malibu Rotary Club
Member’s daughter
speaks about
her profession in
nuclear medicine
Barbara Burke
Freelance Reporter
Nuclear medicine — it’s
a phrase that befuddles and
perhaps even scares some
people.
For Malibu native Dr.
Shana Elman, it is her life’s
work. Her academic and
professional journey has
been lengthy and actionpacked,
encompassing
nearly 20 years of college,
internships, residencies and
fellowships.
Attendees at the Malibu
Rotary Club meeting on
Oct. 3 were treated to vicariously
sharing memories
of Elman’s youth, learning
about her education and
professional experiences
and, most of all, acquiring
more knowledge about nuclear
medicine.
Elman was introduced
by her proud father, John
Elman, who is a physician
in optometry as well as a
longtime member of the
Malibu Rotary Club.
“Although [Shana] grew
up in Malibu, we’ve rarely
seen her the last 20 years
because she has spent the
last 10 years in Seattle
completing various medical
residency programs,” John
said. “Until Shana decided
to go into nuclear medicine,
I wasn’t sure what it was.”
Knowing his daughter
would be in town briefly,
John asked if she would tell
the club about the complicated
subject.
Many at the Rotary event
who knew Shana as a child
enjoyed seeing pictures of
her participating in extracurricular
activities while
attending elementary and
middle school in Malibu
and at Santa Monica High
School.
“I remember Shana as
a little girl,” Margo Neal
said. “Look, there she is!”
Images of Elman participating
in a dance jazz group
and other activities flashed
across the screen.
“Ever since she was 8
years old, Shana said she
was going to be a doctor,”
said Lee Ann Elman, Shana’s
stepmother. “We’re
pretty proud.”
The journey toward being
a nuclear medicine specialist
is long. First, Shana
obtained a bachelor’s degree
in psychobiology from
UCLA. Then, she studied
at Pepperdine’s Graduate
School of Education and
Psychology, graduating
with a master’s degree in
psychology (Cumma Sum
Laude). After that, she obtained
a Doctor of Medicine
degree from the Medical
College of Wisconsin.
After her extensive
schooling, Shana completed
a general surgery internship
at the Virginia Mason
Medical Center in Seattle.
“When I was a surgical
resident, I became aware of
how much nuclear imaging
impacted general surgery
and how it affected all surgical
decisions,” she said.
“I decided to focus on that
instead of surgery because
I liked nuclear medicine’s
role in a medical team’s
problem solving.”
At the University of
Washington, Shana had
residencies in diagnostic
radiology and nuclear medicine,
completed a fellowship
in nuclear medicine –
PET/CT scans, and was an
acting instructor teaching
Shana Elman speaks at the Malibu Rotary Club’s Oct. 3 meeting at Pepperdine
University. Barbara Burke/22nd Century Media
nuclear medicine.
At the Rotary presentation,
she provided an informative,
succinct explanation
of nuclear medicine,
addressing its utility in
diagnostics as well as its
therapeutic applications.
Shana explained how
nuclear medicine can be
used to assess the effects of
Alzheimer’s disease.
“Dementia attacks both
sides of the brain,” Shana
said. “With nuclear medicine,
we can determine a disease
process and that helps
us to best treat a patient.”
Then, she explained how
doctors can use a nuclear
cardiac stress test to assess
whether a patient is at risk
for heart disease.
“We give a patient a
nuclear cardiatic stress test
and the procedure allows
us to see whether any areas
of the heart are not working,”
she said. “We can see
whether any tissue is infarcted,
meaning whether it
is almost dead or is dead.”
Elman also explained
how nuclear medicine can
be used therapeutically and
some of its site-specific
treatment modalities.
Attendees were impressed
by Elman’s vast
knowledge, as well as by
her ability to explain complicated
medical processes
and terms to laypersons.
“I never knew that nuclear
medicine was more than
just diagnostic and that is
has therapeutic aspect,”
Neal said. “We learned a
lot today.”
Shana said she misses
Malibu.
“It’s home and I love to
visit here,” she said. “My
favorite thing is to be on
the beach.”
Now, Shana is to be a
nuclear radiology specialist
at the University of New
Mexico Medical Center.
However, first, after
giving a presentation at a
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Shana’s journey in medicine
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