Nuclear FACTS 2022

October 27th, 2022

Days
Hours
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About NuclearFACTS

Fedoruk Centre project grants enable Project Leaders from Saskatchewan institutions to create social and economic benefits through nuclear research, development and training.  NuclearFACTS is an annual event where Project Leaders report on progress of their research projects and share their vision of potential benefits with the Fedoruk Centre Project Advisory Committee (PAC), with each other and with interested participants from the broader community.  PAC members and other attendees are welcome to ask questions about the progress of each research project, issues, highlights, and the vision of how expected outcomes will advance science or technology for the benefit of society. 

NuclearFACTS 2022 is planned as a fully virtual event during the fourth week of October, aligning with Nuclear Science Week.

Meet our PAC

Duanne Bratt (PhD)

Professor Bratt was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA

1992) and Alberta (Ph.D 1996). He teaches in the area of international
relations and Canadian public policy. His primary research interest is in the
area of Canadian nuclear policy. Recent publications include: co-editor, Orange
Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta (University of Calgary Press, 2019),
co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas
3rd edition (Oxford University Press, 2015) and author of Canada, the
Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival (McGill-Queen’s University Press,
2012). Current projects include the risk assessment of Canada’s nuclear waste
site selection process.  He is a regular media commentator on political
events. 

John Luxat (PhD)

He obtained his B.Sc. (Eng.) and M.Sc. (Eng.) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1967 and 1969, respectively. In 1972 he obtained his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Windsor. He has been a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario since 1974. Prior to joining McMaster University in 2004 he had 32 years experience working in many areas of nuclear safety and nuclear engineering in the Canadian nuclear industry, as Vice President, Technical Methods at Nuclear Safety Solutions Limited in Toronto and, prior to that, as Manager of Nuclear Safety Technology at Ontario Power Generation.

Katherine Zukotynski, BASc, MD, PhD, FRCPC, PEng, FACNM, FSNMMI

After completing an undergraduate degree in Engineering Science at the University of Toronto, Dr. Zukotynski completed medical training followed by a residency in radiology, also at the University of Toronto. Subsequently, she completed nuclear medicine training through the Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine at Harvard. From 2009 to 2012, she was a staff radiologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She returned to Toronto and from 2012 to 2015, she was a staff radiologist at Sunnybrook  Health Sciences Centre. She joined the staff at McMaster University in 2015 and concurrently pursued a PhD through the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, which she completed in 2020. She is board certified in nuclear cardiology, as well as in nuclear medicine and radiology, in both the United States and Canada.

Dr. Zukotynski’s main areas of research are in molecular imaging and machine learning and she has been awarded over $5M in funding for this. She is also incoming President for the American College of Nuclear Medicine (ACNM), Vice Chair of Finance for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), Vice Chair of the Board for the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovations and Chair of the Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA) Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Track.   

Alastair McIvor (B.Eng)

He graduated in Engineering in the UK in 1989 and worked for the UK Atomic Energy Authority in research and development, then specialized in safety analyses for nuclear power reactors. He became a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1996.  At Chalk River Laboratories, Alastair was the Section Head for safety analysis, a member of the administration team for the Canadian Neutron Beam Centre, and the Manager responsible for nuclear licenses for several reactors.  He was Director of Corporate Operations during the four-year restructuring of Chalk River Laboratories by the federal government, before becoming the Senior Director of Operations at the NRU research reactor, responsible for nuclear operations and radiation protection.  In 2017, he qualified as Chief Nuclear Officer for Chalk River Laboratories, and subsequently fulfilled a term of service at the International Atomic Energy Agency, helping to develop international nuclear safety standards for research reactors.

Our Speakers

Session 1

Presentation 1 - FC2020-6: Public Engagement in Nuclear: Medicine, Mining, Meeting Climate Change Commitments

Margot Hurlbert is a Canada Research Chair in Climate Change, Energy and Sustainability Policy at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina, Canada. Margot’s scholarship concerns climate change, energy, Indigenous peoples, water, droughts, floods, water governance and sustainability and is an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change author.

Presentation 2 - FC2021-1: Mythmaking around nuclear science and technology

Dr. Ian Phillip Brown is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Regina in the Department of Gender, Religion, and Critical Studies. Ian’s research focuses mythmaking around nuclear science and technology, specifically the ways that news and popular media shape public opinion on nuclear science and technology.

Presentation 3 - FC2020-4: Development of Nuclear Imaging Tools for Pre-clinical Evaluation of Lung Inflammation: Sequential PET-CT Imaging in the Swine and Murine Models

Das Ankon is a DKM graduate from Bangladesh​

Session 2

Presentation 1 - FC2021-9: Utilization of a novel bispecific antibody for tumor imaging in human and canine malignancies

Dr. Behzad Toosi is the Allard Research Chair in Oncology and an Assistant Professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), University of Saskatchewan, commencing 2019. Dr. Toosi was trained as a veterinarian and obtained his PhD in reproductive endocrinology from University of Saskatchewan. During his PhD, Dr. Toosi developed a strong interest in the biology and treatment of hormone-driven and reproductive system-associated cancers. This motivated Dr. Toosi to pursue cancer research as both a post-doctoral fellow and a professional research associate at the College of Medicine, University is Saskatchewan. After his appointment as an independent investigator at the WCVM, Dr. Toosi has established an interdisciplinary and collaborative research program in comparative oncology. This program is unique in Western Canada and aims to link cancer research that is conducted for both human and companion animals. Testing of new therapies in animal models that better represent human disease, such as naturally occurring tumors in pet dogs, has the capacity to reduce the time for clinical development of new pharmaceutical agents for human cancer therapy. At the same time, there exists an opportunity to bring the novel, advanced diagnostics and therapeutics from human drug discovery and pharmaceutical research to veterinary medicine. Dr. Toosi’s lab is currently working on various comparative oncology research models including lymphoma, osteosarcoma, melanoma and mammary carcinoma. His research is funded by the Allard Research Chair start-up fund and research grants from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Companion Animal Health Fund, and the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation.

Presentation 2 - FC2021-7: 18F-labeled cannabinoids: novel radiotracers for pregnancy and health

Dr. Phenix obtained a dual major B.Sc. degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Regina in 2000. Then he completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. Afterwards, he joined the lab of Dr. Stephen Withers (UBC) and was co-supervised by Dr. Michael Adam (TRIUMF).  In 2009, he was recruited to “Canada’s newest research institute” the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute (TBRRI) where he helped design, fund and equip new research infrastructure including the cyclotron, a preclinical imaging and animal care facility. In Jan 2016, he was recruited back to the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. Currently, he runs a large interdisciplinary research program focused on developing PET radiotracers for imaging biological processes in cancer and Parkinson’s disease as well as radiotracers for improving crop production and imaging the cannabinoid receptors.  He has obtained substantial amounts of research funding including grants from the Global Institute for Food Security, GlycoNet, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Silvia Fedoruk Centre for Nuclear Innovation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Presentation 3 - FC2019-5: Nuclear imaging of animal models of disease

Completed a bachelor in Veterinary Medicine in 2010 at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil. Completed a postdoctoral research at the University of Saskatchewan in 2020 (area of radiation safety). Currently a veterinary radiology resident and Master’s student at the same university.

Presentation 4 - FC2019-2: 18 F-ABA: Applications of a Novel Radiotracer for Plant, Animal and Human Health

Dr. Phenix obtained a dual major B.Sc. degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Regina in 2000. Then he completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan in 2006. Afterwards, he joined the lab of Dr. Stephen Withers (UBC) and was co-supervised by Dr. Michael Adam (TRIUMF).  In 2009, he was recruited to “Canada’s newest research institute” the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute (TBRRI) where he helped design, fund and equip new research infrastructure including the cyclotron, a preclinical imaging and animal care facility. In Jan 2016, he was recruited back to the University of Saskatchewan as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. Currently, he runs a large interdisciplinary research program focused on developing PET radiotracers for imaging biological processes in cancer and Parkinson’s disease as well as radiotracers for improving crop production and imaging the cannabinoid receptors.  He has obtained substantial amounts of research funding including grants from the Global Institute for Food Security, GlycoNet, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, Silvia Fedoruk Centre for Nuclear Innovation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Session 3

Presentation 1 - FC2019-1: PET Imaging Pancreatic Cancer with Linker Enhanced Peptide with Antibody Vectors

Eric W. Price, Ph.D. (Synthetic, Inorganic, Bioconjugate, and Radio- Chemistry, || h:16, 27 publications, 1,669 citations, $2.9M funding) has expertise in creating new chemical tools for radiopharmaceutical development such as chelators, near-infrared dyes, amino acids, peptides, and bioconjugation reagents. The applications of these new chemical tools are focused on imaging and treating cancers. He is an Associate Professor in Department of Chemistry and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Radiochemistry. Notably, Dr. Price was awarded by the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) a “Top 30 under 35” young researcher award in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. His highly interdisciplinary and applications-based research program has validated several new tools and has filed 3 provisional patents for his discoveries at USask. Dr. Price has mentored 14 UG, 4 MSc, and 6 PhD, 2 PDF, and 3 research associates.

Presentation 2 - FC2019-3: Development of a Molecular Imaging Probe that Detects Responses to Anti-Cancer Therapies

Kimberly Jett received her PhD in medical genetics from the University of British Columbia in 2014. Her doctoral research used clinical genetics and cellular biology to better understand disease processes which lead to the development of benign and malignant tumours and cardiovascular disease in Neurofibromatosis 1, a common genetic disorder. Then as a postdoc in Scot Leary’s lab she examined how alterations in cell signaling in the liver affects mitochondrial function and leads to systemic immune dysregulation. Her recent postdoctoral research has primarily focused on how to target immune cells to cancer and better monitor treatment efficacy.

Presentation 3 - FC2019-9: Comprehensive Investigation of Selected Uranium Compounds for Application in Generation IV and Small Modular Reactors

I am Jayangani Ranasinghe, currently working with Prof. Jerzy Szpunar and Dr. Barbara Szpunar as a research assistant at the University of Saskatchewan. I obtained my Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan (2022), my MSc from Kyushu University, Japan (2009), and my BSc from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka (2005).

My research interests include experimental and computational studies of nuclear fuel materials’ electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, fission product behavior, and thermal conductivity enhancement methodologies. These studies greatly interest in developing accident-tolerant fuels for GIV nuclear reactors.

Session 4

Presentation 1 - FC2021-3: Targeting regulatory T cells in experimental colon cancer with radioimmunotherapy

Ekaterina Dadachova received her Bachelor in Chemistry and PhD in Physical Chemistry degrees from Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia. She did her postdoctoral studies in radiopharmaceutical chemistry at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) in Australia, and at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the USA. She subsequently held a Professorship in Radiology, Microbiology and Immunology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, USA. At the end of 2016 she joined University of Saskatchewan as a Chair in Radiopharmacy at the Fedoruk Center for Nuclear Innovation, and a Professor at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition. Her laboratory has pioneered radioimmunotherapy (RIT) of infections. Her other research interests are radioimmunotherapy of melanoma as well as melanin-based radioprotectors. The latter project has been funded by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and by the Canadian Space Agency. She has >188 published peer-reviewed articles, 12 book chapters, and 7 US patents. She received several awards such as Philips Young Investigator Award by RSNA, Young Professionals Award from the SNM, Mary Kay Ash Research Award, Top 10 researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2013, 2017 Burroughs Welcome Travel Award, and 2020 University of Saskatchewan Distinguished Researcher Award. She is in the top 2% of cited scientists worldwide according to Stanford University 2021 data. She is an Academic Editor for the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, PLOS ONE, International Journal of Molecular Sciences and several others. She has been a member of CIHR Pharmacology and Toxicology Review Panel since 2018.

Presentation 2 - J2018-0041: Positronic Detection of Iron Reducing, Ammonia Oxidizing Microorganisms

Steven Siciliano currently holds the NSERC/COOP Industrial Research Chair in In Situ Remediation and Risk Assessment at the University of Saskatchewan. He is a soil microbiologist and toxicologist with 25 years of experience in industrial innovation and academic research.  Academically, Steven is one of the most highly cited soil scientists in the world, ranked in the top 1% of the world with more than 190 publications that have been cited over 14,000 times, and a h-index of 61, and a i-10 index of 152.

During this period, Steven initiated and executed privately and publicly sponsored large-scale remediation projects, accumulating experience in assembling and leading research and development teams specializing in the execution of projects spanning from the laboratory to the field scale.   Working closely with Federated Cooperatives Limited over the last decade, Steven has developed and validated in situ bioremediation systems designed specifically for the cold, calcareous soils of Western Canada.   He is the CEO and co-founder of Environmental Material Sciences, a company dedicated towards commercializing the remediation and monitoring knowledge developed over the last two decades of research.  In 2021, EMS was awarded $4.2 million from the Sustainable Development Technology Corporation to aid in the commercialization of remediation technology that will reduce the industry’s footprint while increasing its economic sustainability.    EMS was also awarded a multi-year NSERC grant to develop machine learning algorithms to improve site management approaches in the hydrocarbon sector.

Presentation 3 - J2018-0047 Multi-Centre Development of Solid Targetry for the Cyclotron Production of Gallium-68, Scandium-43 and -44, Zirconium-89 and Technetium -99m

Eric W. Price, Ph.D. (Synthetic, Inorganic, Bioconjugate, and Radio- Chemistry, || h:16, 27 publications, 1,669 citations, $2.9M funding) has expertise in creating new chemical tools for radiopharmaceutical development such as chelators, near-infrared dyes, amino acids, peptides, and bioconjugation reagents. The applications of these new chemical tools are focused on imaging and treating cancers. He is an Associate Professor in Department of Chemistry and a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Radiochemistry. Notably, Dr. Price was awarded by the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) a “Top 30 under 35” young researcher award in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. His highly interdisciplinary and applications-based research program has validated several new tools and has filed 3 provisional patents for his discoveries at USask. Dr. Price has mentored 14 UG, 4 MSc, and 6 PhD, 2 PDF, and 3 research associates.

Presentation 4 - FC2020-3: Approaching the Next Generation of Radiopharmaceuticals: Development of Radio-Resistant Chelators with Insights from Synchrotron Light

Sussex/Stanford and Exxon Research & Engineering Co. in New Jersey USA, he continued at Exxon as a Principal Investigator until moving to the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory in 1992. In 2003 he became full Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy at the University of Saskatchewan. George has authored more than 300 publications in the primary peer-reviewed scientific literature. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K). George has used synchrotron radiation in his research since his D.Phil. and pioneered many of the methods that are in common use today.