Under the auspices of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and UT Southwestern, the Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Program was established to leverage the cutting-edge imaging technology of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for biomedical research. This technology is especially suited for understanding cancer initiation and progression mechanisms, intermediary metabolism of cancer cells, prognostic evaluation of cancer patients, and eventually the early and individualized diagnosis and corresponding efficacious treatment of cancer.

The cyclotron facility, located underground on UT Southwestern’s North Campus, generates positron-emitting radioisotopes and radiotracers to enable preclinical, translational, and clinical research with PET imaging, which is capable of noninvasively and quantitatively interrogating biological pathways or targets in live subjects.

Equipped with a Current Good Manufacturing Practice Laboratory to produce PET drugs under 21 CFR Part 212 and the United States Pharmacopeia chapter 823, the program has been integrated into existing research programs at UT Southwestern in many disciplines, to accelerate the translation of new basic research discoveries from bench-top to bedside for better patient care and positive clinical outcome in North Texas. This Program will also serve as an educational/informational resource to promote the integration of advanced imaging technologies into disease biology, prevention, and therapeutic monitoring.