Director of the institute
About
Prof. Dr. Bernd Neumaier's research focuses on the use of innovative radiolabeling methods for the production of radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Under his leadership, an interdisciplinary team of radiochemists, physicists, biologists, technicians and physicians at INM-5 is dedicated to the complex challenges of developing structurally diverse radiopharmaceuticals. One focus is on the transfer of processes from classical chemistry to radiochemistry in order to make them usable for the production of radiopharmaceuticals. Another research focus is the development of new radiotracers for the visualization of physiological and pathological processes in the brain using positron emission tomography (PET). The institute also pursues the production and isolation of non-standard radionuclides for therapeutic applications in the context of radioligand therapy and endoradiotherapy. A modern infrastructure with extensive radiochemical and preclinical laboratories, three cyclotrons and a GMP-compliant clean room enables the production of radiopharmaceuticals and their preclinical evaluation. In addition, close cooperation with the university hospitals in Aachen, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf provides a direct interface for the translation of promising radiopharmaceuticals from preclinical research into clinical applications.
Research Topics
Neurotracers, non-standard radionuclides, nuclear data measurement, radiopharmacology, radioligands, radiotracers, radiolabeling methods
Curriculum Vitae
Academic Education and Prefessional Degrees
1992 | Diploma thesis (“Radiochemical determination of 7Be yields in the nuclear reaction 209Bi(p,7Be)203Hg up to 40 MeV”) at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH |
1992 - 1996 | Dissertation (“Radiochemical studies on protein binding and affinity of Y(III)-complexes to bone metastases”) at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH |
2009 | Habilitation (“Development of radiometal-labelled antibodies and nucleosides for endoradiotherapy of oncological diseases”) and venia legendi in Nuclear Chemistry at University of Cologne |
Professional Career and Academic Achievements
1996 - 2006 | Head of Cyclotron/Radiopharmacy at University of Ulm |
2006 - 2013 | Head of Cyclotron/Radiopharmacy at Max-Planck-Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne |
2009 | Habilitation and venia legendi in Nuclear Chemistry at University of Cologne |
2010 | Offer of a W3-Professorship for Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry at Ruprecht Karls University Heidelberg and German Research Cancer Center (DKFZ) (declined) |
2011 | Adjunct Professor at University of Cologne |
Since 2013 | Professor (W3) for Nuclear Chemistry and Director of the Institute of Radiochemistry and Experimental Molecular Imaging at University Hospital of Cologne |
Since 2015 | Professor (W3) for Nuclear Chemistry and Director of the INM-5 at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH |
Others (Editorships, Advisory Boards, Awards)
2009 - 2018 | Member of the Committee of the working group Radiochemistry/ Radiopharmacy (AGRR) of the German Society for Nuclear Medicine (DGN) |
2011 - 2018 | Member of the Board of Directors, German Society for Nuclear Medicine (DGN) |
2011 | Award winner of the innovation contest “365 Orte im Land der Ideen” for the project “Innovative imaging methods for the visualisation of stem cells in brain” |
Since 2015 | Member of the Radiopharmaceutical Working Group of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Committee of the German Pharmacopoeia Commission |
2016 | SNMMI Image of the Year 2016 |
2017 - 2020 | Member of the Expert Group 14 (Radiopharmaceutical preparations) of the European Pharmacopoeia Commission |
Since 2019 | Member of the Board of Directors of the specialist group Nuclear Chemistry, German Chemical Society (GDCh) |
Associate Editor of the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry (JRNC) |