Scientific
Advisors

Dr. Ghassan El-Haddad is the Section Head for the Radionuclide Therapy Program at Moffitt Cancer Center. He is an Associate Member in the Diagnostic Imaging & Interventional Radiology Program and Cancer Physiology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center and an Associate Professor of Radiology and Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida.

Dr. El-Haddad received his MD from the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon. After his internship at SUNY Upstate Medical University, he completed his residency in Nuclear Medicine as well as a fellowship in Nuclear Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Following 2 years of practice at the PET center of the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, he completed a Radiology Residency at St Vincent’s Medical Center/University of Connecticut in Bridgeport, CT, followed by a fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. El-Haddad is double board certified by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM) and the American Board of Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (ABR). He is a member of the Board of Directors of the ABNM. He is a founding member of the Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO), an active member of multiple medical societies, including the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), and more. He is a member of the Targeted Radioisotope Therapy Outreach Working Group for the SNMMI, as well as a member of several committees including the Nuclear Medicine/Molecular Imaging Scientific Program Subcommittee for the ARRS.

Dr. El-Haddad is also an investigator/co-investigator on several phase I/II and III multicenter randomized clinical trials. His research interests include optimization of liver directed therapies to improve outcomes and reduce hepatotoxicity, as well as the development of novel targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies including alpha targeted therapy for metastatic uveal melanoma and neuroendocrine tumors. His clinical interests are to promote the role of individualized image-guided therapies as part of a multidisciplinary approach to provide the most effective treatment for patients with cancer while maintaining an optimal quality of life.

Dr. Suzanne Lapi completed her undergraduate studies and Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC, Canada. She went on to complete a postdoctoral appointment at UCSF working with Henry VanBrocklin, Ph.D. on the development of imaging agents for PSMA in prostate cancer before being recruited as a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis where she ultimately stayed on as a tenured Associate Professor until 2015.

Dr. Lapi is currently a Professor of Radiology and Chemistry and Cyclotron Facility Director where she oversees the production of PET radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals for preclinical and clinical trials. Her research interests are in the development and translation of new PET radionuclides and imaging agents. She is very interested in moving imaging agents forward to clinical use and she is currently producing isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals for several clinical trials. Dr. Lapi has extensive experience in the preclinical and clinical research use of 89Zr antibodies.

Dr. Lapi has over 100 publications and a track record of grants in the area of isotope production, molecular imaging, and training of the next generation of radiochemists. She is a Board Member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and a past Board member of the Nuclear Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS). She is a board member of the International Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (ISRS) and has been active in many projects with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). She also continues to be a strong advocate of radiopharmaceutical sciences and the training of future radiochemists.

Dr. Zachary Morris is an assistant professor and vice chair of the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He serves as program director of Bentson Translational Research Fellowship program and DEI director of the department of Human Oncology.

Dr. Morris received his MD as well as a PhD in the biological and biomedical sciences program at Harvard University.  He completed a one-year internship in internal medicine at the University of Hawaii, then completed his residency training in radiation oncology at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Morris is board certified by the American Board of Radiology.  He is an active member of ASTRO, ASCO, RSNA, ABS, ACR, AACR, Radiation Research Society, the Society for Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC) and is a part of several advisory committees including the NCCN Guidelines expert panel on soft tissue sarcomas.

As a physician-scientist, his independent translational research laboratory focuses on the mechanisms whereby radiation may enhance the response to immunotherapies and his current clinical focus is on the treatment of patients with melanoma and soft tissue sarcomas. His extensive research has led to the development of over 50 publications as well as many speaking engagements.

Dr. Jeff Norenberg completed his post-graduate training in nuclear pharmacy and PET radiochemistry at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland while serving in the US Public Health Service. He is an expert in the design and development of targeted radioligands for molecular imaging and therapy.

From 1991-1993, he served as a Radiology Lecturer and Director of Nuclear Pharmacy Services at Tufts School of Medicine and New England Medical Center Hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. He then joined the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences faculty at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy in 1993 and was appointed the Director of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Program in 1998. In 1999, he was made an Associate Member of Medical Staff of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. From 2006-2009, he was appointed as the Director of the Keck-UNM Small-Animal Imaging Resources at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and, during his last year, was promoted to the rank of Professor.

Dr. Norenberg is currently a Board-Certified Nuclear Pharmacist and a fellow in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the American Pharmacists Association. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the Education and Research Foundation for Nuclear and Molecular Imaging, and the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine. He is also a delegate to the United States Pharmacopeia Convention. His work in the discovery and development of radiopharmaceuticals have resulted in 12 issued patents and more than 100 scholarly works.

Professor Oliver Sartor is a medical oncologist and translational researcher with a special focus on prostate cancer over the past 33 years. He completed his fellowship in Medical Oncology in 1989 at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda and is currently Director of Radiopharmaceutical Clinical Trials at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

His productivity in research is documented by his scholarly output in terms of publications and presentations. He has over 500 peer review publications and has led or co-lead multiple national and international advanced prostate cancer trials including those pivotal for FDA approval with samarium-153 EDTMP, cabazitaxel, radium-223 and PSMA Lu-177. He has lectured widely, having given invited lectures in over 30 countries. In addition, he has been the oncology chair of the NRG GU committee and helping to co-PI trials such as RTOG 0521 and 0621.

His translational focus on prostate cancer is devoted to improving the care of prostate cancer patients and a variety of translational efforts have been devoted to ensuring that the mechanistic and scientific understanding of prostate cancer provides the underpinnings for the next generation of clinical trials.

Prof. Sartor has received the Tulane Medical Alumni Association Outstanding Alumnus Award and the Tulane, Deming Department of Medicine Award for Research (Hematology/Oncology). He is also involved in multiple new prostate cancer clinical trials, some of which may change practice.