Facility Advisory Committee

Dr. Andrea Armstrong has 18 years experience in the development and commercialization of medical isotope technologies. Prior to joining Synergy Oncology, she spent 14 years leading McMaster University’s radioisotope research program, where she led the commercialization of two large-scale production technologies, as well as the development of a new process for generating high-quality lutetium-177 in medium flux research reactors. She was a critical member of the multi-institutional team that secured $35 M from ISED Canada to create the Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem in 2023, and was the McMaster lead for the “Care By Air” initiative that saw the first-in-world use of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System to deliver medical isotopes to hospital. 

Andrea has a strong track record of building strategic partnerships to advance both medical and non-medical applications of nuclear technology. During her time at McMaster she established collaborations with scientists at national laboratories, universities, and the private sector, supporting research through provision of expertise, radiotracers, and isotopes. Andrea is the author of the university’s contribution to Canada’s Small Modular Reactor Action Plan, white papers on topics including Canada’s neutron gap and the global medical isotope supply chain, and 35+ peer-reviewed publications. As a recognized expert in her field, Andrea is a regular contributor, speaker, and panelist at events organized by groups including CNIC, CNA, CNS, NAYGN, NRCan, NWMO, OCNI, and TRIUMF. She is also an experienced educator, creating and delivering content for undergraduate and post-graduate courses and workshops, as well as public-facing events such as Doors Open and Nuclear Science Week. 

Andrea is the chair of the Canadian Nuclear Society’s Science & Technology of Radioisotopes (STORI) division, a member of the IAEA’s Consultancy Group on Lu-177, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology at McMaster University. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Calgary. 

Justin is a research scientist focusing on radiochemistry applications to improve access to leading edge molecular imaging tools to investigate pressing biomedical questions.

He splits his focus across clinical translation of radiopharmaceuticals and training undergrads, graduate students, and post-docs who will develop or use their exceptional skills in bioorganic and radiochemistry. His education includes a MSc in Tc-99m chemistry with John Valliant at McMaster University (2010) and a PhD with Alan Wilson and Neil Vasdev at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health/University of Toronto (2015) on PET tracer development for CNS enzymes.

After 2015, Justin joined the Lawson cyclotron as a radiochemist to translate clinical PERS. After his first year, he was appointed as a Lawson Scientist and Assistant Professor at Western University in the department of Medical Biophysics. His research interest spans from basic radiochemistry method development to discovering new imaging agents. He and his team dabble in DIY automation and are constantly improving their radiopharmaceutical production processes. Recently they've started exploring ways to improve access by rural communities to these unrivaled imaging methods.

Frank Wuest is a Professor and, since December 2021, the Chair of the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Dresden University of Technology in Germany in 1999. Frank worked two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Medicine in St. Louis before becoming the Head of the PET-tracer Division of the Research Centre Dresden-Rossendorf in 2001. In 2006, he accomplished his habilitation thesis in biochemistry at Dresden University of Technology, when he also received the Venia legendi in biochemistry. 

In 2008, Frank started a new position as the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Chair in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences in the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta. He was an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Senior Scholar from 2010-2017. Frank also holds adjunct appointments with the Department of Chemistry and the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Alberta. 

Frank’s research interests are embedded in the multidisciplinary field of translational cancer research with a particular focus on imaging biomarkers. His research aims to design, evaluate, and facilitate the clinical translation of innovative radiopharmaceuticals to optimize cancer diagnosis and treatment. His work has continuously been funded through various operating and infrastructure grants from CIHR, NSERC, CFI, AIHS, PCC, and ACF. He has published his work in over 190 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters. Frank is also a co-lead of the Alberta Radiopharmaceutical Collaboration (ARC) to facilitate the rapid and safe clinical introduction of radiopharmaceuticals to enhance patient care.