Rong Xu, PhD
Dr. Rong Xu is a radiochemist in the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section (PRSS), NIMH from January 2012. She received her B.S. (1999) and M.Sc. (2002) degrees in Organic Chemistry from Yunnan University in China, investigating the structure-activity relationship of benzoylurea chitin inhibitors. She obtained her Ph.D. in 2007 from the University of Missouri-Columbia under the guidance of Dr. Susan Lever. Her research focused on the structural design, synthesis and radiolabeling of 1,4-disubstituted piperazines as brain imaging ligands for sigma receptors. She had her postdoctoral training in PRSS from 2008 to 2010, with the supervision of Dr. Victor Pike, developing 5-HT
Fabrice Simeon, PhD
Dr. Fabrice Simeon, PhD is a Staff Scientist who joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health as a Visiting Fellow in March 2003. He received his BSc (Organic Chemistry, 1993) and PhD (Synthetic Organic Chemistry, 1998) from the University of Caen, France. Dr. Simeon’s early research focused on the fast methods for the synthesis of organic molecules using either microwave irradiation or organometallic catalytic systems. Before joining the MIB in Bethesda, MD, he spent two years at the department of Life Sciences of the French Energy Atomic Commission (Cyceron, Caen) as a postdoctoral Chemist Engineer. During this period he was introduced to PET radiochemistry for imaging brain receptors. One of his first targets was the preparation and labeling with [11C]KCN of a high affinity ligand to the trypsine plasminogen activator (tPA) which is involved in the processes leading to cerebral ischemia.
Shuiyu Lu, PhD
Dr. Shuiyu Lu is a Staff Scientist (since June 2002) in the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health. He received his BSc (Organic Chemistry, 1983) from Nanjing University, China and PhD (Synthetic Organic Polymer Chemistry, 1991) from the University of Manchester, England. He spent two-years at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Lu’s early research focused on the formation and transformation of macromolecules. He became a Research Fellow at the Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, England (1994-2002) where he was at the forefront to develop novel methodologies for the preparation and application of isotopically labeled compounds, both stable and radioactive. Notably he was leading the efforts to develop microwave-enhanced dueteriation/tritiation procedures, where microwave dielectric heating that transforms electromagnetic energy to heat provides direct access