MRC Collaborative Training Programme in Radiochemistry for NeuroPET

Positron emission tomography or PET allows the amount and position of specific molecules to be mapped non-invasively using sensitive detectors of very low level, relatively safe radioactively tagged tracers. In the ideal case, the method could provide critical diagnostic information for the diagnosis of major diseases such as Alzheimer s disease long before symptoms may appear. The methods also can be used to help better ensure that the right dose of experimental drugs are used in clinical trials, increasing the likelihood of successful completion of the trials. However, while the UK has equipment that could allow a high level of this activity at several major academic hospitals, there are not enough chemists specially trained to develop and produce the radiotracers. This proposal would create a novel 4 year training programme- really a world first - to equip two chemists with the skills and experience to become UK leaders in this area. In addition, the grant will bring together centres that previously have not worked together, allowing them to begin to pool resources for common good.

This proposal is to establish a pilot advanced neuroPET radiochemistry training programme linking major centres for molecular imaging in the UK in a collaborative network. The programme will be aimed at post-doctoral chemists. Two four-year training fellowships will be created by our programme. The initial two years of each will be focused on developing foundation skills in a structured, ?hands-on? pedagogical framework. In the latter six months of this two-year foundation training period, trainees will take on a mentored evaluation of potential approaches for new neuroPET radiotracer refinement or development. In the final two years of the programme, trainees then will work in one of the collaborative sites as the lead in a programme to develop one such radiotracer concept. The new radiotracer development will be pursued in a way that will allow the rapid translation of the work to benefit multiple partners in the collaborative network (and others). The outcomes of this programme will include new collaborative partnerships between UK molecular imaging centres, newly trained radiochemists able to lead independent programmes and a contribution to the development or refinement of novel PET molecular imaging radiotracers.