In June 2022, Jonathan Burns, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, and Suzanne Lapi, Ph.D., professor in the Departments of Radiology and Chemistry, hosted 8 graduate students from across the country through the Horizon-broadening Isotope Production Pipeline Opportunities (HIPPO) collaboration.

This training program, which is based at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and sponsored by the Department of Energy Isotope Program, exposes students to the different activities that are required to provide the nation with radioisotopes needed for science and other applications. Drs. Burns and Lapi are co-investigators on this project, and, together, they offered an engaging week-long program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB.

Throughout the week, they focused on nuclear and radiochemistry for isotope production and radiopharmaceutical development. The participants included UAB chemistry students, as well as students from other HIPPO partner institutions, including TAMU, Argonne National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Lab, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the City University of New York, University of Notre Dame, Stony Brook University, and the University of Utah.

“It is exciting to be a part of a program, which is investing in young scientists who will be an integral part to finding creative solutions to the many challenge the isotope science community faces,” said Burns.

For Lapi, the experience proved to be valuable. “It was wonderful to interact with students excited about radioisotopes, and it was a great opportunity to showcase our nuclear and radiochemistry program at UAB,” said Lapi.

UAB students had the opportunity to participate in similar activities at HIPPO sites across the country throughout the remainder of the summer. Learn more about the HIPPO collaboration.