Founders
The PI and Co-Is form a collaborative team representing Oxford University and the Harwell Campus (Rosalind Franklin Institute, RFI). They will be responsible, with members of the Steering Committee, for the management of the equipment from the procurement stage to access facilitation, maintenance and prioritisation oversight, and the provision of support to the user base. They have a robust track record in all aspects of nuclear imaging, and have worked on numerous successful collaborative projects. Together, they have formulated a well-received long-term plan for nuclear imaging in Oxford and the Thames Valley, which harnesses our regional intellectual force to invent the next generation of UK proprietary PET ligands/radiotracers. The equipment will be central to their vision by supporting under-explored, yet vital, engineering and physical sciences research to advance nuclear molecular imaging, and thereby understand, diagnose, monitor and treat diseases.
PI. Véronique Gouverneur FRS (VG) VG’s research has appeared in > 210 publications, > 300 lectures. She is an expert in fluorine chemistry including sustainable catalytic reactions using metal alkali fluoride (Science 2018, JACS 2019 & 2020x2, Nat Prot 2021). VG performed the first 18F-radiolabeling experiments with [18F]KF in Oxford in the purpose-built facility SOMIL; her research focuses on 18F-labelling methods to streamline access to 18F-radiotracers not within reach of conventional methods. She developed methods to label (hetero)arenes by coupling aryl boron reagents with [18F]KF/ Cu(OTf)2(pyr)4 (ACIE 2014) or [18F]CuCF3 (Nat Chem 2013). This work has attracted much attention in the radiopharmaceutical sector as it accesses difficult 18F-radioligands. These studies are applicable to diagnostics used in the clinic, and complex PET ligands for drug discovery (JACS 2017). She is co-inventor with Cornelissen of [18F]olaparib (DNA imaging), currently ongoing clinical evaluation (JNM 2018, Nat Prot 2020). With BGD, she has studied the 18F-fluorination of unmodified peptides at Cys (JACS 2018) and Trp (JACS 2018 & 2020) with [18F]CF3, and fluorination methods for proteins (Nature 2020). Her work has been recognised by various prizes e.g., Arthur C. Cope Award (2022, ACS), Moissan Prize (2021, France), Prelog Medal (2019, ETH), Tilden Prize (2016, RSC), ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry (2015). She is a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (2016) and Fellow of the Royal Society (2019).
Co-I. Daniel Anthony (DA) is Professor of Experimental Neuropathology. The ability to identify upstream pathology in the brain using molecular imaging (MI) is central to his work and to all seeking to better understand the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. He has used novel PET 18F-ligands to probe the distribution of astrocytes and microglia with brain in vivo models and other radioisotopes to monitor lymphocyte recruitment to the brain. DA has experience also in MRI and was the first to show that the activated brain endothelium could be imaged within MRI-visible targeted contrast agent to reveal ‘invisible pathology’ not seen with conventional imaging agents. His work has generated 11 patents, 3 DPFS translational awards, and > 200 publications (40 on in vivo MI) on the neurobiology of inflammation. His findings have been disseminated with > 100 lectures since 2002. He was elected Fellow of the BPS in 2020 and holds honorary professorial positions in Lille, Sechenov, and the University of Southern Denmark. He sits on Advisory Boards on Biomarkers for Neurological disease for Novartis and Merck, and is Chairman of a DSMB for Stem cells in spinal cord injury (SCI2) (Trial ID: A2017SCI03 EudraCT ID: 2018-000805-22 31). He is scientific Lead on the UK-based SPIKE trials for Camostat and Nafamostat, 2020 (CRUK, funder: LifeARC). As co-I, he will facilitate the studies necessary to evaluate the new PET radiotracers invented with MiniCy.
Co-I. Benjamin Davis FRS FMedSci (BGD) BDG’s research has appeared in > 250 publications, > 400 lectures. His work explores chemical construction and mechanism of biomolecules. BGD has developed methods for post-translational, site-selective alteration (mutagenesis) of proteins, sugars and nucleic acids in a series of papers over 20 years based on a ‘tag-and-modify’ strategy (Acc Chem Res 2011). This has allowed the precise positioning of near-unlimited functionality into biological contexts, and exploitation in associated biotechnological and pharmaceutical contexts (Science 2004, Nature 2007, Science 2016, Nature 2016, Nature 2018, Nature 2020). The utility of radiolabelled biomolecules (PNAS 2004) and the power of F as a ‘zero background’ label in nature has been a long-standing focus: use of fluoro-sugars led to an 18F-PET selective, small-molecule probe for TB, now in phase 1 clinical trials (Gates Foundation-funded collaboration with Barry (NIH), Nature Chem Biol 2011). Fluoro-sugar probes of parasitology and modulators of immunology developed (RCUK Basic Technology grant) with the creation of diverse sugar-arrays allowed rapid diagnosis (ChemBioChem 2009), using information gained from the first x-ray structures of fluoroligosaccharide ligands in proteins (Protein Sci 2009). Protein fluorination methods have focused to date on larger prosthetics (e.g. fluoro-sugars, Chem Sci 2010, CC 2010&2011), including first examples of synthetic ‘fluoroglycoproteins’. Davis published first examples of Pd-chemistry on proteins (JACS 2009, Nature 2018); unprecedentedly active aq. catalyst systems have extended this with VG to 18F peptide/protein-labelling (JACS 2013). The development of radical-mediated C–C bond formation on proteins provides a core foundation for installing unseen functional diversity (Science 2016, Nature 2018 & 2020). He is the Scientific Director for Chemistry at the RFI, which applies molecular methods to complex biological systems. His work has been recognised by numerous prestigious awards e.g., the Davy Award (2020, Royal Society) and the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry (2017, ACS). He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2015), and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2019).
