Thunder Bay Marina

Sample menu:






News:

June  2010:

I am pleased to announce that our lab was awarded an NSERC Discovery Grant!

Our article recently published in PNAS was featured in C&EN News!

If you are interested in pursuing an interdisciplinary graduate degree or a postdoctoral position in imaging science, please contact Dr. Phenix!

free counters

Did you know:

There is a current shortage of people trained in radiochemistry and PET imaging science in Canada and abroad.  This, coupled with the development of several new PET research centers in Canada, has created a high demand for PET scientists.

Relevant Links:


The Phenix Group

We are interested in discovering, developing and validating new imaging agents for the diagnosis and molecular characterization of disease using positron emission tomography (PET).  A very small amount of a radioisotopically labelled tracer is administered into the circulation which travels throughout the body and interacts with a specific biomolecular target. Target biomolecules are often biomarker proteins which are used as “red flags” to reveal the occurrence or severity of a disease such as cancer. PET is therefore a powerful noninvasive tool that enables the “functional imaging” of specific biomarkers thereby distinguishing normal from diseased states.

Example content image

The radioisotopes used for PET (such as 18F, 11C, 64Cu, and124I) are produced in cyclotrons that accelerate hydrogen atoms in a circular motion while focusing them into a high energy beam. This hydrogen beam is then used to bombard a gas or liquid target  thus promoting nuclear chemistry to produce the PET isotopes.  A radiochemists job is to then take these newly synthesized  isotopes and chemically incorporate them into tracers that are subsequently purified and analyzed prior to injection into an animal or patient.  After administration of the tracer, the subject is placed into a PET scanner which detects accumulation of the tracer in the tissues and organs possessing sufficient levels of the target biomarker.  The data is converted into a  series of images that illustrates the physiological location of the radioactivity with respect to time, thereby permitting pharmacokinetic uptake and quantitative assessment of tracer levels.  PET, unlike most other imaging techniques that are anatomy based, is a functional, semi-quantitative imaging modality that monitors the biology and biochemistry of disease inside living animals or patients.  As a result, PET is already used as a significant research and diagnostic tool in oncology, neurology, cardiology and drug design.

In the Phenix group, we apply skills in organic synthesis, radiochemistry, protein bioconjugation chemistry, enzymology and molecular biology towards the design and development of new PET tracers intended to image biomarkers relevant to cancer.

Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute:                  Munro

The Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute is Canada’s newest molecular imaging and advanced diagnostics research institute. It is an independent, not-for-profit research corporation that partners closely with Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre to bring world-class patient care and translational research to Northwestern Ontario. TBBRI has strong partnerships with academia and industry. Scientists and clinicians work together with academic and industry partners to develop tools to efficiently bring molecular imaging and advanced diagnostic technologies to the patient in a research setting. This will happen under three key research themes:

- Imaging Guided Interventions

- Advanced Detection Devices

- Probe Development and Biomarker Exploration  

Thunder Bay is on the edge of beautiful Lake Superior and is surrounded by forests, lakes and diverse wild life.  Life in Thunder Bay is characterized by friendly people, strong sense of community, affordable living and a deep connection to the outdoors.