By Maila Hughes, BAppSc(DiagRad), MMagResTech, 2025-2026 ISMRT AMPC Chair

My name is Maila Hughes, and I am honoured to serve as Chair of the Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) for the 2026 ISMRT Annual Meeting, set to take place in the vibrant and picturesque city of Cape Town, South Africa.

My journey in MRI began 25 years ago as an MR radiographer at Westmead Hospital in Sydney. Early on, I discovered that my superpower lay in teaching and sharing knowledge—reflected in my six-year tenure as a lecturer at the University of Sydney’s School of Medical Radiation Sciences, alongside my clinical role as MRI educator at the hospital. Since joining the ISMRT in 2009, I have held various positions, including serving as Australian National Chapter president from 2021 to 2023. For the past eight years, I have had the privilege of working as an MRI clinical applications specialist for Philips Australia & New Zealand, where I have met many wonderful people and shared my passion for MRI. My experience in AMPC planning spans multiple international and regional meetings, including Honolulu 2025, Singapore 2024, and the Australia & New Zealand Annual Meetings in Adelaide 2024, Auckland 2023, Sydney 2022, and Sydney 2017. Through ISMRT, I have been able to indulge my passion for delivering MR educational opportunities to peers worldwide.

The 2026 Cape Town annual meeting marks a historic milestone, as it will be the first time that the ISMRM and ISMRT are hosting an annual meeting on the African continent. This landmark event reflects the growing momentum and meaningful engagement our Societies have achieved with MR professionals across the region.

A prime example of this engagement is the development of the ISMRT Future Leaders Program in Africa, officially launched in 2024. This grassroots initiative was thoughtfully designed to cultivate ISMRT communities, nurture emerging leaders, and advance the development of MRI educators and practitioners across the continent. Since its inception, the program has grown remarkably, with mentorship teams now active in 16 countries, leading to the official establishment of ISMRT Divisions in Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, and Burundi.

Planning is well underway for the 2026 program. The dedicated and passionate members of the AMPC committee are committed to delivering an exceptional meeting that will inspire and serve both our African and global communities.

The theme for the 2026 Cape Town annual meeting will be “Ubuntu: I am, because we are.” Ubuntu is a philosophy that values community and the interconnectedness of all people. It teaches that a person’s humanity is expressed through their relationships and their contributions to the well-being of the group. The ISMRT community of MR radiographers and technologists embodies Ubuntu by uniting professionals from diverse regions and sectors to collaborate and share knowledge in our shared passion—magnetic resonance imaging. Have you experienced Ubuntu through collaboration in MRI? Whether your story comes from Africa or elsewhere in the world, we want to hear how working together has made a difference https://www.ismrm.org/26m/ubuntu/.

Finally, I encourage our ISMRT community to reflect on how you might contribute to what promises to be an outstanding meeting. Whether you are developing new research ideas or refining existing ones, now is the perfect time to discuss them with your colleagues and begin preparing your abstracts. The submission window opens on 01 October 2025, and the deadline closes earlier this year on 29 October 2025. For more details, visit https://www.ismrm.org/26m/.

No doubt, Ubuntu will shine brightly at the Cape Town meeting, and together we will create a collaborative and inspirational event.

Maila Hughes, BAppSc(DiagRad), MMagResTech
2025-2026 ISMRT AMPC Chair