We are pleased to announce our 2026 ISCD Award Recipients and to recognize their contributions to the field of skeletal health assessment. These remarkable individuals were nominated by fellow ISCD members for their leadership, expertise and outstanding service to ISCD and our mission. The announcement of ISCD Awardees has been a milestone event for the Society since 1996 and a highlight of the Society’s Annual Business Meeting.
Heidi Kecskemethy, MS Ed, RDN, CBDT is the Enterprise Director of Radiology Research and is a Clinical Research Scientist at Nemours Children’s Health. She is based at Nemours Children’s Hospital DE in Wilmington, DE, USA. She has been certified by the ISCD since 2002 and has served in various leadership roles within the Society, including the Executive Committee/Board of Directors as Secretary for 6 years, Pediatric Course Committee Chair, on various committees (Personnel, Finance and Audit, Item Writing, Scientific Advisory, Personnel, Education Council, Pediatric Course, Awards), and as Co-Chair of several Annual Meetings. She has served on two Pediatric Positions Development Committees (2013 and 2019) and is a faculty member of the ISCD Pediatric Bone Densitometry Course.
Her scientific expertise is in bone densitometry and pediatric nutrition, with emphasis on bone assessment in patients with neuromuscular disabilities. She regularly presents at national and international meetings and has traveled the world providing instruction to healthcare professionals on pediatric bone assessment and the lateral distal femur DXA technique. She serves as a resource and educator for clinicians and researchers, providing guidance on pediatric bone density assessment and quality, and the conduct and design of human subject research. Heidi is also a Registered Dietitian with Board Certification in Pediatric Nutrition and has authored or co-authored 48 peer-reviewed papers and 8 book chapters.
Robert D Blank is Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the Medical College of Wisconsin and a visiting scientist at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. He is a past president of the ISCD, a fellow of the ACP and the ASBMR, and a member of the ANZBMS, ASHG, Endocrine Society, GSA, and APS, and AHA. He serves on the IOF’s Council of Scientific Advisors, and the boards of directors of the International Federation of Musculoskeletal Research Societies. He is an associate editor of Bone, Osteoporosis International, and Frontiers in Endocrinology.
Dr. Blank is a physician-scientist with a laboratory research program focused on the genetic basis of bone biomechanical performance and a clinical research program focused on fracture and multimorbidity. Other research interests include the genetics of congenital vertebral malformation, best DXA practices, undertreatment of osteoporosis, and osteosclerotic disorders. He is an author of over 150 publications and has held multiple federal research grants. He served as associate director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Wisconsin from 2006-2013.
Dr. Blank received undergraduate degrees from Columbia University and the University of Cambridge and his MD and PhD degrees from New York University. He completed residency at Weill-Cornell in internal medicine and did his fellowship in endocrinology in the combined Weill-Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center program. He was a postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University concurrently with fellowship. He began his faculty career at the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill-Cornell College of Medicine. He moved to the University of Wisconsin in 2000 and to the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2013, retiring in 2019 on moving to Australia.
Shannon serves as a Lead Diagnostic Imaging Technologist at Children’s National Hospital, in Washington D.C., where she has specialized in orthopedic imaging and bone densitometry since 2006.
“Being recognized by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry as the 2026 Technologist of the Year is an incredible honor and a meaningful reflection of my dedication to the field.” Shannon Triggs, RT(R), CBDT
Thomas P. Olenginski, M.D, has been a core faculty member in Rheumatology at Geisinger, Danville Campus since 2001. He is responsible for Rheumatology Fellowship Osteoporosis Curriculum and education; He heads Geisinger DXA Services and is physician lead of Geisinger HiROC Fracture Liaison Service, which started in 2008. A graduate of Penn State University, he received his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in 1984 and did his Internal Medicine Residency and Rheumatology Fellowship at Geisinger. He remains active in ACR, BHOF, ISCD, ASBMR Secondary Fracture Prevention Initiative Coalition, and Bone Health TeleEcho. The ACR in 2023 awarded him the Innovation in Clinical Care Award for his work with Geisinger’s Mobile DXA and HiROC Programs. He lives in Lewisburg, PA with wife Jessica and they have 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. He is an avid Penn State fan!
Allyson Steward, MS, CNMT, RT(N)(CT)(ARRT), CBDT, serves as the Nuclear Medicine and Bone Densitometry Supervisor at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, Delaware. She has been certified in bone densitometry for 18 years and is the lead instructor for DXA at the Nemours Delaware Valley campus. In her role, she oversees high quality DXA acquisition for both clinical and research purposes and has dedicated nearly two decades to mentoring Nuclear Medicine students, fostering their development in the specialized field of pediatric nuclear medicine, including pediatric bone densitometry. She possesses expertise in scanning the most technically challenging patients, including those with rare diseases like OI, RCDP, DMD, and various neuromuscular conditions.
Her academic credentials include an Associate’s Degree in Nuclear Medicine Technology, a Bachelor’s Degree in Allied Health, and a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration. She holds certifications in bone densitometry, computed tomography (CT), and is double board certified in nuclear medicine. Since becoming a member of the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) in 2019, she has remained actively engaged in professional meetings and has contributed to the most recent revision to the Pediatric Bone Density Course as a Pediatric Course Committee member.
Dr. Subasinghe is a Consultant Endocrinologist with special interest in Osteoporosis and Metabolic bone disease at Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka. She had her clinical training in Sri Lanka and the UK (Christie NHS FT, Manchester) and was a recipient of several national awards of academic excellence.
As an early-career leader in the field of osteoporosis, she represents Sri Lanka at the Asia Pacific panel of ISCD and holds active membership in the Expert Advisory Board of the Asia Pacific Consortium of Osteoporosis. She actively involves in establishing high quality densitometry and osteoporosis care in Sri Lanka through education, service establishment, stakeholder coordination, national advocacy and guideline development.
She was the recipient of the ISCD AP Panel Grant, 2025, and she successfully utilized the grant to translate ISCD education to have immediate visible impact in the country, creating national momentum.
She also holds several other leadership roles in the Sri Lanka College of Endocrinologists and the Sri Lanka Medical Association at present, including Project Coordinator of the StEP-D Project, a national initiative aimed at improving structured education and advocacy in Type 1 Diabetes in Sri Lanka.
She also represented Sri Lanka at the Global Leadership Academy of the Endocrine Society (USA) in 2023, enhancing leadership skills and translating international best practices into local service models. She has demonstrated editorial leadership through her editorial roles in national and regional peer-reviewed journals and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of SJDEM, the official journal of the Sri Lanka College of Endocrinologists.
Dr. Subasinghe is also a committed teacher and mentor. She contributes to specialist training as the Secretary of the Specialty Board in Endocrinology at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, supporting governance and training standards for future endocrinologists, and also serves as a Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, contributing to undergraduate teaching. Her research interests include osteoporosis, Type 1 Diabetes, and diabetes remission.