Dr. Frank Wuest, Ph.D

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 200 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.