Internationally renowned radiopharmaceutical scientist Carolyn Anderson has joined the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as the UT–ORNL Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Medicine: Radiopharmaceutical Therapies.

Anderson holds a joint appointment as a professor in UT Knoxville’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and researcher in ORNL’s Isotope Science and Enrichment Directorate. She also serves as a faculty mentor in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education’s Genome Science and Technology UT–ORNL Ph.D. program. She will work with researchers across UT and ORNL to advance the development of targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies for cancer.

For Anderson, coming to Tennessee is also a return to where part of her scientific career began.

“Coming to Tennessee feels like coming full circle,” Anderson said. “I spent part of my graduate career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it played an important role in shaping me as a scientist. Returning now to work alongside researchers across UT Knoxville, ORNL, the UT Health Sciences and UT Medical Center is an extraordinary opportunity. Together, we can advance radiopharmaceutical therapies from fundamental discovery through clinical translation and ultimately improve patients’ lives.”

A leader in radiopharmaceutical science

Anderson is internationally recognized for her research developing radiolabeled compounds that can identify cancer earlier, determine whether treatments are working and deliver radiation directly to tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

Her work has helped advance theranostics, which combines diagnostic imaging and targeted therapy to personalize cancer treatment. She has led research involving reactor-produced radionuclides, including terbium-161, actinium-225 and lead-212, and has worked with academic, clinical and industry partners to move promising discoveries toward clinical applications.

Anderson will work with UT-ORII’s Development and Advancement of Radiopharmaceutical Therapies convergent research initiative, collaborating with experts from ORNL, UT Knoxville, the UT Health Sciences, UT Medical Center and other organizations to accelerate the development of next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapies.

Radiopharmaceuticals use radioactive materials to diagnose and treat cancer with extraordinary precision. By targeting cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue, they are transforming cancer care and creating new hope for patients with diseases that have historically been difficult to treat.

Developing the next generation

Anderson also brings a strong commitment to mentoring students and early-career researchers. Throughout her career, she has mentored undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

“Watching students become independent scientists and seeing them go on to make discoveries of their own is one of the greatest joys of my career,” Anderson said. “Every student brings a different perspective and new ideas. I hope I can help inspire the next generation of researchers to dream big, work together and make discoveries that improve people’s lives.”

A pioneer in radiopharmaceutical science

Before joining UT and ORNL, Anderson was a professor of chemistry and associate director of the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri, where she founded the Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Center, which became a hub for researchers across disciplines to develop innovative radiopharmaceuticals for cancer imaging and targeted therapy.

At the University of Missouri, Anderson’s research focused on developing radiolabeled compounds that can identify cancer earlier, determine whether treatments are working and deliver radiation directly to tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.

Her work has helped advance theranostics, which combines diagnostic imaging and targeted therapy to personalize cancer treatment and improve patient outcomes. She has led pioneering research involving reactor-produced radionuclides, including terbium-161, actinium-225 and lead-212, and has collaborated with academic, clinical and industry partners to translate promising laboratory discoveries into potential clinical applications.

Before joining the University of Missouri in 2020, Anderson spent 20 years on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, where her research helped establish the foundation for radiometal-based imaging agents and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies. She later joined the University of Pittsburgh, where she established a small-animal imaging shared resource at the Hillman Cancer Center before becoming a professor in the Department of Medicine.

Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from Florida State University. Her contributions to nuclear medicine and molecular imaging have been recognized with many of the field’s highest honors, including the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s Michael J. Welch Award, Paul C. Aebersold Award and Georg de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award. She also received the Academy of Radiology Research Distinguished Investigator Award and the American Chemical Society’s Glenn T. Seaborg Award in Nuclear Chemistry.

Learn more about Anderson, her research and her appointment as a UT–ORNL Governor’s Chair in UT-ORII’s full announcement at: https://utorii.com/ut-ornl-recruit-world-renowned-radiopharmaceutical-scientist-to-advance-targeted-cancer-therapies/