Radiochemistry Research Program

Radiochemistry is the study of properties, applications and relationships of radioactive elements. With widening application in the fields of medicine, the environment, energy and defense, the uses for radioactivity and nuclear chemical techniques are growing. And so is the demand for trained radiochemists in all of these fields.MU has a 25-year history of successful and innovative radiopharmaceutical research, including the development of diagnostic and therapeutic drugs containing radioisotopes. Three FDA approved drugs were designed and developed at MU. Ceretec is a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical comprised of a small, lipophilic complex of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) that is used to evaluate the cerebral blood flow in patients. Quadrament is a therapeutic radiopharmaceutical composed of samarium-153 (Sm-153) and a bone seeking ligand for the treatment of pain associated with metastatic bone cancer. Therasphere is a glass microsphere containing yttrium-90 and is used in patients with inoperable liver cancer.

The Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute at MU has recently been awarded $10 million by the National Cancer Institute to establish a Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center. Research areas for the Center for Single Photon-Emitting Cancer Imaging Agents include: organic, organometallic and peptide radiosynthesis, cancer specific radiotracer development, imaging sciences (SPECT, MRI, CT, PET) and biotechnology, including phage display. The goal of the center is to foster interdisciplinary research to enable development of novel radiolabeled molecular imaging agents capable of selective in vivo uptake and retention in cancer cells.

MU is home to the the nation’s largest (10MW) nuclear reactor found on a college campus. The MU Research Reactor (MURR) provides advanced research opportunities for students and faculty in the neutron-related sciences and engineering.

The Radiochemistry Research Summer Internship Program is designed not only to provide students with a summer research experience, but also to explore the varied career opportunities that have radiochemistry as a scientific underpinning. This program is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (NSF REU) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Special workshops and weekly meetings will be organized for the radiochemistry interns. An introductory workshop on hazardous materials management will be held, along with a complementary workshop on radiation safety. Students who are working at the MU Research Reactor will recieve additional site-specific training. Students will attend a weekly lecture/laboratory to cover a broad array of chemistry and radiochemistry topics, including: radioactive decay and radiation, the radiotracer principle, interaction of radiation with matter and detection, health effects of radiation, radioactive waste, use of radioisotopes in medicine, nanotechnology, computational methods in chemistry, and synthetic methods in organic chemistry.

Eligibility

Students must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. Applicants are expected to have completed at least two years of full-time college enrollment prior to June 2007 with a minimum 3.0 gpa, and be pursuing a major in chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, biochemistry, physics, or related fields. Students are expected to have sufficient math and science backgrounds to appreciate radiation safety training and should have completed at least two years of college chemistry (general and organic) prior to June 2006.

Faculty Mentor Information

Applicants should visit the MU Research Reactor Web site to learn more about individual faculty member's research interests. Every effort will be made to place accepted students with a faculty member listed on their application; however, for optimal lab placement, please take special care in describing your research and career interests on your application and in your personal statement.

Faculty Mentors and Research Interests

• Susan Z. Lever (Project Leader of the REU Program in Radiochemistry) Design and synthesis of metal-based radiotracers for biomedical applications
• M. Frederick Hawthorne
  Application of boron-containing constructs for neutron capture therapy
• Timothy J. Hoffman
  Medical physics applications in small animal imagers
• Silvia S. Jurisson
  Utilization of gamma and beta emitting radiometals in the development of potential diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals; methods for the detection and separation of radiometals
• John R. Lever
  Development of novel radioactive tracers for biological recognition sites
• William H. Miller
  Radiation detection and measurement techniques and the application of these techniques to analysis, non-destructive testing and benchmarking studies
• J. David Robertson
  Development of radionuclear methods of analysis and the subsequent application of these techniques to fundamental problems as diverse as environmental science, neurological disorders, and archaeology