The University of Alabama at Birmingham Cyclotron Facility has been selected to join the United States Department of Energy Isotope Program as a University Partner. The UAB Cyclotron Facility is the third university to join the University Isotope Network. This partnership will bring three new isotopes to the Isotope Program's product catalog: cobalt-55, manganese-52 and vanadium-48.

"We are honored that UAB has been selected to join the DOE University Isotope Program," said Suzanne Lapi, PhD, UAB Cyclotron Facility director. "This program is incredibly selective and allows us to continue enabling new activities in the radio pharmaceutical space that will ultimately lead to the development of novel imaging agents to identify new markers of diseases."

The Department of Energy selected UAB for this program to bring up the next generation of isotopes. The goal of the isotope program is to enhance isotope supply and work to make them nationally available.

UAB's isotopes are developed with the Cyclotron Facility's TR24 cyclotron, a unique resource for an academic medical center in the United States. This powerful cyclotron is a particle accelerator that creates isotopes for medical imaging agents for clinical and research applications. The facility currently produces over 15 radioisotopes for medical applications in preclinical studies and clinical trials.