A UNM chemistry professor earned a $425,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study techniques to improve technology used with CAT scans, MRIs and X-rays.
Richard Kemp, who received the three-year grant from the foundation, will focus on radiotracers, which identify normal bodily functions such as metabolism, as well as potential medical complications such as heart problems, tumors and cancers.
"Most radiotracers that are used are based on fluorine-18," Kemp said. "Basically we are trying to eventually make carbon-11 based radiotracers."
Kemp added that carbon-11 has not been used because it has a shorter life span than fluorine-18.
"The reason we want to use carbon-11 is because it is the most natural substitute you can put into a drug or radiotracer," Kemp said.
The National Science Foundation's Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry program will give Kemp the grant Sept.1.
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"We asked for a three-month delay to get past the summer," he said. The grant will be used for one post-doctorate and two graduate students, but there may also be money for undergraduate students, Kemp said
Kemp said General Electric is allowing the group working on the project to visit and work in upstate New York for one month a year.
"GE has interest in these radiotracers and I know one of the chemists there and he approached me and asked if I was interested in the grant," Kemp said.
He added that one of the interesting aspects of the project addresses the type of catalyst the group will use.
Kemp, along with co-principal investigator Bahram Moasser from General Electric Global Research Center, will not only focus on possible industrial applications, but also on the fundamental science and training opportunities for students.
