Dr. Cathy S. Cutler brings more than 10 years of experience in the development and evaluation of
radiopharmaceuticals to her position of Senior Research Scientist in the University of Missouri Research Reactor’s (MURR)
Radiopharmaceutical Research and Development Program.
Dr. Cutler earned the Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry in 1988 and the Doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry in 1993 from
the University of Cincinnati (UC). Her graduate work focused on the interface between inorganic chemistry and nuclear medicine,
primarily utilizing inorganic chemistry to evaluate and determine the mechanism of action of selected metal-based
radiopharmaceuticals. A post-doctoral position with Dr. Heineman at the University of Cincinnati advanced to Group Manager,
where her focus was on collaborative studies with faculty at the UC Medical Center to determine the in vivo mechanism of
uptake of 99mTc-PAO brain imaging agents, as well as the effects of stability and lipophilicity on brain uptake and retention.
In 1995 Dr. Cutler joined Radiation Sciences at Washington University’s (WU) School of Medicine, where she developed and
characterized a Ga-68 brain agent that crosses the intact blood brain barrier, and designed studies to determine how in vivo
metabolism affects compounds distribution, clearance and target selectivity. She also collaborated with WU colleague
Dr. Scott Gilbertson (Chemistry) and Drs. Silvia Jurisson and Alan Ketring (both at MU) to radiolabel and evaluate peptides
containing unique amino acids with modified side chains to bind metals such as technetium, rhenium and rhodium.
It was this collaboration that drew Dr. Cutler to MURR’s Radiopharmaceuticals (RP) Group as Research Scientist in 1998.
She was appointed Interim Group Leader shortly thereafter and has been instrumental in MURR’s investigations into
applications for lanthanides (funded by a three-year DOE ANMI grant) as well establishment and implementation of
cGMP facilities and processes at MURR for Phase III clinical trials. The RP R&D group works primarily on developing
and evaluating radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in conjunction with fellow collaborators
in multiple MU departments, schools and colleges including Chemistry, Radiology, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine,
as well as the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and Harry S Truman VA Hospital. MURR’s radioisotopes programs have been
instrumental in the University’s singular position of having commercialized three radiopharmaceuticals
—CeretecTM, TheraSphereTM and Quadramet®.
Dr. Cutler’s current research includes developing novel separation methods to provide carrier-free isotopes
for critical medical research and applications. She coordinates the weekly seminar of the
Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute, a broad consortium of MU researchers
intent on interdisciplinary communication and collaboration. She is an active member of the American Chemical Society
and the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Her position at MURR provides a critical bridge with MU faculty in their
utilizing MURR’s unique resources and furthering the University of Missouri’s initiative to achieve NCI designation
as a Comprehensive Cancer Center.
|
University of Missouri-Columbia
