Our Team
PET Center Team
Mark Soffing, PharmD, MBA, MS, BCNP
- Associate Director, Patient Safety and Regulatory Affairs
Shunichi Oya, PhD
- Radiochemist
Nikunj Bhatt, PhD
- Radiochemist
Dr. Nikunj Bhatt received his PhD in chemistry from The M. S. University of Baroda, India. He received his postdoctoral research experience under the guidance of Professor Yoo, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine (2012-2014), South Korea, and Professor Wadas, Wake Forest University School of Medicine (2015-2018), USA. He joined Kreitchman PET Center at Columbia University Medical Center in 2018 as Postdoctoral Research Scientist. He has experience in the field of synthetic organic chemistry, catalysis, pharmaceuticals, and radiopharmaceuticals.
Dr. Bhatt was involved in the synthesis and development of several new and promising chelating agents for metal-based radio isotopes. His main expertise with the radiolabeling of proteins with metal-based diagnostics and therapeutics radioisotopes—especially with 89Zr, 64Cu, 68Ga, 225Ac and 177Lu. This includes conjugation of bifunctional chelator to proteins (peptide, antibody, nanoparticles, etc.) purification, characterization, radiolabeling, and ex vivo/in vivo stability study. He also has hands-on experience with the radiolabeling of proteins with 131/124I and Al-18F. Dr. Bhatt is currently leading the Columbia University radio metal program and is an active team member of production and quality control. He is also actively engaged with the development of a new quality control method for selective radio tracers and the development of new preclinical PET imaging agents.
Andrei Molotkov, MD, PhD
- Lead Scientist, Molecular Biology and Preclinical Imaging
Alessandra Ali, PhD
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Biology and Preclinical Imaging
John Castrillin
- Preclinical Technician, Molecular Biology and Preclinical Imaging; Production Technician
John completed his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and biochemistry at Rutgers University. He began working with radioactive antibodies at the Garden State Cancer Center before moving on to the radioligand development labs at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Here, John conducted radiopharmaceutical binding studies in the brain cells of rodents and primates to characterize and determine the radioligand’s pharmacokinetic potential. When he first came to the Kreitchman PET Center, John worked on radiolabeling tracers and the development of metabolite analysis for research and human use.
Sidney Idumonyi
- Lead Production Specialist
Sidney began his career in PET with Siemens Molecular Imaging (2011) where he received training in performing complex production and quality control functions. His experience includes the setup, operation, routine checks and maintenance of all manufacturing equipment, which includes cyclotrons, chemistry modules and quality control apparatuses. His core competency encompasses all stages of biomarker production including biomarker dispensing, chemistry unit synthesis, cyclotron bombardment, QC product testing, equipment maintenance, and reagents preparation. After joining the Kreitchman PET Center in 2014, Sidney has played an active role in all routine logistical functions in both the production and research of PET tracers.
Kathleen Capaccione, MD, PhD
Kathleen M. Capaccione completed her undergraduate degree at New York University, where she began research on genetics of the visual system using a cave fish model, later studying the human visual system using functional neuroradiology at New Jersey Medical School. She completed her MD at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and her PhD at The Graduate School of Biomedical Science. Her PhD work was performed at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey where she characterized a novel targetable signaling pathway promoting non-small-cell lung cancer metastases. She is now a PGY-IV resident and B. Leonard Holman Scholar in the Department of Radiology where her work focuses on molecular imaging and targeted irradiation of melanoma. She hopes to complete a fellowship in nuclear medicine and continue her work on molecular targeted radiotherapies.
