Medical Physics Seminar – Monday, October 31, 2022
The Development of Radiochemistry for PET and Radionuclide-Based Therapy
Zibo Li, PhD
Professor of Radiology, Director - Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Research Program
University of North Carolina
With an organic chemistry background, Dr. Li switched his research direction after graduation, focusing on applying organic chemistry tools in molecular imaging. Molecular imaging is a fast-growing research area involving the development and evaluation of novel tools, reagents, and methods to image specific molecular pathways in vivo; particularly those that are key targets in disease processes. Within this area of research, Positron emission tomography (PET) has emerged as one of the most powerful clinical imaging techniques, because it can provide critical in vivo information on the distribution of radiolabeled biomolecules for non-invasive diagnosis.
Dr. Li's research has been focused on the development and validation of novel radiolabeling methods and multimodality molecular imaging probes for visualization and quantification of various molecular targets related to neuro, cardiac, diabetes, and cancer research. Radiochemistry has been and continues to be, the central focus of his research. In this presentation, Dr. Li will illustrate how to use chemistry to tune the PK/PD of radiopharmaceuticals.