Conference Program

• Radionuclide production, Paul Ellison, PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
• Nuts and bolts of radiochemistry, Peter Scott, PhD (University of Michigan)
• QA/QC, Marianna Dakanali, PhD (University of Michigan)

David J. Donnelly completed his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2006 from the University of Buffalo and conducted his post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan, where he worked on the synthesis and design of carbon-11 and fluorine-18 radioligands for PET imaging. David joined BMS in 2007, where his research has continued to focus on the design and synthesis of PET radioligands for use in drug discovery at BMS. He has recently been involved with the discovery of 5 different PET radioligands that have been used in human imaging to better understand the fundamental biology of cancer and fibrosis targets.

Dr. Swen Humpert is a radiochemist and the group leader of the Jülich Astatine Project at Forschungszentrum Jülich (INM-5). Recognized twice with the FH Aachen Badge of Honor for outstanding academic achievements in nuclear applications, he completed his PhD in Nuclear Chemistry at the University of Cologne within the Neumaier Lab. Dr. Humpert bridges the gap between diagnostics and cutting-edge therapeutics; following years of leading advanced and PET radiotracer method development, he now manages the establishment of a robust, end-to-end Astatine-211 supply chain in Germany. A key contributor to the European astatine network, his work drives the translation of targeted alpha therapies (TAT) from infrastructure setup to preclinical and later clinical applications.

Sponsored by ATONCO SAS

Relevant Abstracts

Relevant Abstracts

Relevant Abstracts

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Real problem exercise using Astatine-211 presented by Mario Malinconico and Betty Wiens from the SRS Industry Engagement Board

A night out in Ann Arbor, starting with Heavy appetizers and drinks sponsored by NuclearPharm at Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub - 318 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104

Dr. Henry VanBrocklin is Professor and Director of Radiopharmaceutical Research in the

Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Molecular Imaging at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). His work spans the spectrum of radiopharmaceutical science disciplines from short-lived radioisotope production to the development of new strategies for labeling biomolecules with imaging and therapeutic isotopes.

His current research interests include the design of theranostic agents targeting cancer cell surface markers, the preparation of probes for neurodegenerative disorders, including AD and ALS, the application of imaging in drug development, and the development of zirconium-89-labeled antibodies for imaging rheumatoid arthritis, HIV reservoirs, and Long COVID. He has translated radiopharmaceuticals for evaluation in human studies. Dr. VanBrocklin received his Ph.D. (1990) in Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry from Washington University, St. Louis, under the mentorship of Prof. Michael Welch. He was a US Department of Energy Alexander Hollander

Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. John Katzenellenbogen at the University of Illinois. He joined the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a Staff Scientist in 1992 and moved to UCSF as a Professor in 2005. He was elected Fellow of the SNMMI (2018) and SRS (2021). He was selected as a Distinguished Investigator by the Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research in 2018, the recipient of the 2020 Michael J. Welch Award from the Radiopharmaceutical Science Council of the SNMMI, and the 2023 Paul Aebersold Award from the SNMMI. He is the recipient of the 2026 Glenn T. Seaborg Award in Nuclear Chemistry.

Relevant Abstracts

with Peter Scott (University of Michigan) immediately following the conclusion of presentation O-17.

Prof. Neil Vasdev is the Director and Chief Radiochemist of the Centre for Addiction and Mental

Health (CAMH) Brain Health Imaging Centre, and the Director of the Azrieli Centre for Neuro-

Radiochemistry at CAMH. He is also the endowed Azrieli Chair in Brain and Behaviour, and

a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Radiochemistry and Medical Imaging. In addition, he is a full

Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. Neil started his

radiochemistry and neuroimaging training while obtaining his Bachelor degrees (summa cum

laude) in Chemistry and Psychology followed by a PhD supported by NSERC at McMaster

University. He continued training with a NSERC postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of

Nuclear Medicine and Functional Imaging at the E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in

California. He began his independent faculty career in radiopharmaceutical sciences at

CAMH/University of Toronto in 2004. In 2011 he joined the leadership of the Department of

Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard

Medical School. From 2011-2017 he served as the Director of Radiochemistry and Associate

Centre Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital and joined the faculty of Medicine as an

Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at Harvard Medical School until 2022. He

was recruited back to CAMH and the University of Toronto in 2018. He has published over 200

peer-reviewed articles, delivered over 200 lectures worldwide He is a Fellow of the American

Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the SNMMI.

1. Career Express – Facilitator: Marianna Dakanali, Mentors: David Donelly (BMS), Chris Drake (Z-Alpha Therapeutics), Michelle James (Stanford), Mario Malinconico (Comecer), Joanna Suan (Spectron Rx), Kara Weatherman (Purdue) 

1. Automation – Facilitator: Laura Trump from TRASIS

14:30-15:30

Automation Group A

Career Express Group B

15:30-16:30

Automation Group B

Career Express Group A

Dr. Hsiaoju (Sharon) Lee is currently a Research Assistant Professor and the Director of the Cyclotron Facility at the University of Pennsylvania. During her tenure at Penn, she has overseen the adaptation and optimization of more than 15 tracers onto automated systems. Those tracers were used in FDA approved Investigational new drug (IND) to study diseases, interrogate receptor regulation and investigate intervention in clinical research setting. Dr. Lee's initial training on development and evaluation of and radiotracers used with positron emission tomography (PET). The project covered ligand design, compound synthesis, affinity testing, radiolabeling, and in vitro and in vivo evaluation. After graduation, Dr. Lee continued to work on PET probe development at Molecular NeuroImaging (MNI), a company that focused on PET tracer targeting different neuroreceptors. Dr. Lee was involved in the synthesis and evaluation of radiotracers using pre-clinical animal studies, such as non-human primate studies, and early phase clinical studies. Dr. Lee joined the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 with a focus on radiochemistry, quality control testing, quality assurance, and other regulatory aspects of radiotracer produced for clinical studies. 

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Relevant Abstracts

Relevant Abstracts

Relevant Abstracts

1. Design of Experiments (DoE)– Greg Bowden
2. Automation – Ildi Beck, GE Healthcare

15:00-16:00

Automation Group A

DoE Group B

16:00-17:00

Automation Group B

DoE Group A

Presentation of awards, closing remarks from Peter Scott, followed by an optional tour of the University of Michigan Cyclotron Facility