MU Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute Director Receives National Honor
Wynn Volkert is known for his achievements in radiotherapeutic drug invention
The Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council of the Society of Nuclear Medicine has selected Wynn Volkert, PhD, MU Curators’ Professor Emeritus of Radiology, Biochemistry and Chemistry, as the inaugural recipient of the Michael J. Welch Award. Volkert accepted the award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of radiopharmaceutical sciences, at the 2009 Society of Nuclear Medicine Conference in Toronto.
“Professor Wynn Volkert is one of the most eminent scientists in the field of coordination chemistry. He’s an outstanding scientist, a great teacher and a very decent and humble colleague,” said P. August Schubiger, PhD, director of the Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Paul Scherrer Institute and University Hospital Zurich, where Volkert served as a visiting research professor in 1997.
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Dr. Volkert
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Volkert is the co-inventor of Ceretec, which was the first drug of its kind used in imaging brain blood flow in patients with neurological disorders and for imaging abscesses and sites of infection. He is also the co-inventor of Quadramet, a widely used radiotherapeutic drug for relieving pain in bone cancer patients.
The award is named in honor of Michael J. Welch, PhD, a professor of radiology, developmental biology and chemistry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“Dr. Welch has always made tremendous leadership, scientific and educational contributions to our field,” Volkert said. “I am honored to be the first to receive this award in his name.”
Volkert is director of MU’s Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute. A graduate of Saint Louis University, Volkert received his doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1968. He has served the University of Missouri for more than 25 years as a professor of radiological sciences, biochemistry, chemistry and nuclear engineering. Volkert is a past associate and senior research career scientist at Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital and a former interim director of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Institute. He has served on several National Institutes of Health study sections related to radiation and imaging, and he has provided similar leadership to the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Energy. Volkert also was principal investigator of a $10 million National Cancer Institute grant-funded project to help establish one of the nation’s top centers for cancer imaging research.
MU’s Research Reactor, the most powerful university reactor and largest U.S. producer of radioisotopes for biomedical and medical applications, served as a critical resource for Volkert's research program.
