Dr. Michael L. Nickels

Michael L. Nickels, PhD, earned his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under Professor John Katzenellenbogen. After completion of an industrial post-doctoral appointment researching both medicinal and the related process chemistry. In 2010, Dr. Nickels joined the Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty and accepted the role of Technical Director of the Radiochemistry Core Laboratory, later becoming the Director of the Core. In 2019, Dr. Nickels joined the faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) within the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) as Associate Professor of Radiology. Dr. Nickels currently serves as the Director of the MIR WUSM Cyclotron Facility and Nuclear Pharmacy where he oversees the development of new radiochemistry techniques, production of preclinical imaging agents, solid target production/distribution, cGMP compliance, translational projects, theranostic agent development and the production of human use radiopharmaceuticals. As an organic chemist, the typical research endeavors that Dr. Nickels has undertaken encompass the development of new and novel radiopharmaceuticals and the necessary labeling techniques used to incorporate radionuclides, such as F-18, C-11, I-124, Ga-68, Cu-64/67, Tc-99m and Zr-89.