info@isotherapeutics.com
Leadership
R. Keith Frank, Ph.D.
Dr. Frank is President, Chief Executive Officer, and co-founder of IsoTherapeutics. A synthetic organic chemist by training, he has spent the first 23 years of his career at The Dow Chemical Company. His principle activity was in the development of radiopharmaceuticals, including two approved products (Quadramet® and 125I-IotrexTM). He holds 22 US patents and has over 30 publications.
Dr. Frank initiated and led ChelaMedSM radiopharmaceutical services at Dow. In that role he helped other companies develop radiopharmaceuticals and taught them about isotopes and conjugation chemistry. He also has expertise in developing tumors in animal studies and in radiation dosimetry.
Jaime (Jim) Simón, Ph.D.
Dr. Simón is Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and co-founder of IsoTherapeutics. He is a radiochemist by training and spent 25 years at Dow where he was responsible for a group dedicated to developing new pharmaceutical technologies. He holds over 50 US patents, including the key patents covering Quadramet® (153Sm-EDTMP) for the treatment of bone cancer and STR (166Ho-DOTMP) for safely ablating bone marrow prior to bone marrow transplants. Dr Simón has over 70 publications.
Staff
Lance Cooper
Mr. Cooper is the Director of Business Development at IsoTherapeutics. He spent 32+ years at The Dow Chemical Company, where his career was divided between polyurethane chemicals Technical Service & Development and chelation technology R&D. In his technical service role he interfaced with multiple large corporate accounts and led numerous product development projects interfacing with many functions including sales, marketing, production, R&D, EH&S and product stewardship. In his R&D role he was involved in chelation technology applied to H2S abatement, cleaning products and radiopharmaceuticals. Lance graduated from the University of Colorado – Boulder with a degree in chemistry. He holds 8 U.S. patents in various technologies.
Prakash “Buck” Bakhru
Mr. Bakhru serves as Director of Business Development for IsoTherapeutics. He is a hands-on product, sales, market and business development professional. Mr. Bakhru’s career includes working for The Dow Chemical Company, W.L. Gore & Associates, and Honeywell Inc. While employed by these companies, Mr. Bakhru gained experience in R&D, manufacturing, technical service, product management, market development, sales and business management. Among his several noteworthy accomplishments, he is most proud of leading a wire and cable product management team to increasing revenue from $13MM to $30MM in 5 years. Mr. Bakhru has traveled extensively, both domestically and in Asia Pacific to meet customers and develop new sales and markets for products. He has MS degree in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Missouri-Rolla.
Jason Rogers
Mr. Rogers is Laboratory Manager and Assistant Radiation Safety Officer. He joined IsoTherapeutics in 2007. Mr. Rogers had prior experience in the United States Navy as a Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class where he was tasked with the maintenance for all systems dealing with the nuclear reactor plants on the U.S.S. John C. Stennis (Carrier Class CVN-74). He was in charge of divisions averaging 10 people and developed a cataloging and maintenance plan for primary piping systems.
George M. St. George, Ph.D.
Dr. St. George is Quality System Manager and a Scientist at IsoTherapeutics. He spent 26 years at The Dow Chemical Company, specializing in the synthesis of chelating agents and metal chelates, and in their industrial scale-up. In addition to over 80 internal Dow research reports, he is the author of nine US patents and an external journal publication. Additionally, he is trained in ISO 9000.
Shannon Phillips, Ph.D.
Dr. Phillips is a Scientist at IsoTherapeutics. She is an analytical chemist by training, focusing on chromatographic development and validation. The first 5 years of her career was spent at the Pharmaceutical Research Institute in Analytical R&D at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS). During this time Dr. Phillips made significant technical contributions to the CMC filing for an NDA application including hands-on technical transfer of methodology in Europe. She was the analytical project leader for two products in early stage development, and she helped design and implement two GMP-regulated laboratories while at BMS. During her three years at The Dow Chemical Company she provided a broad range of technical expertise in Analytical Sciences in Core R&D. Dr. Phillips is a graduate of The Ohio State University and has authored five peer reviewed publications.
Kimberly Miller
Mrs. Miller is the Executive Assistant for IsoTherapeutics. She is a Certified Purchasing and Supply Chain Manager, receiving her certification from UH-CLC. She was the first graduate of this program at the Business School. Mrs. Miller’s career consists of 23 years at Rhodia/Rhone Poulenc as a Corporate Buyer and Inventory Manager and 5 years at TDECU as the Director of Facilities and Purchasing. Mrs. Miller traveled extensively with Rhodia implementing new maintenance software systems and training employees at various sites. She has experience in all aspects of office management, project management and vendor management.
Kelli Jay
Mrs. Jay is a chemist at IsoTherapeutics Group. She graduated with honors from Texas State University with a B.S. in Biochemistry. She also has two years of experience in biomedical science as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas-Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. She has previous background knowledge in animal care and welfare, and she currently functions as the IACUC chair at IsoTherapeutics Group. Her experience at IsoTherapeutics includes protein chemistry, drug development, animal care and biodistribution studies, and GMP manufacturing.
Scot Ellebracht
Mr. Ellebracht is a Laboratory Technologist, and Lab Animal Manager at IsoTherapeutics Group. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s of Arts. He has been at IsoTherapeutics Group since 2010, and has worked extensively with animals. During this time, he has conducted many animal studies and assisted with GLP studies. Also, he has worked closely with The Gabriel Institute in an effort to develop new treatments for osteosarcoma, with promising results in canines. He has been trained in several animal surgical procedures and analytical laboratory techniques.
Leslie Swirsky
Miss Swirsky is a Laboratory Technologist at IsoTherapeutics. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biomedical Sciences with an emphasis in pre-veterinary studies. She has 4 years of animal experience working at a veterinary office and volunteering with wildlife rescue. She also was trained in the use of Imaging Services of PET/CT machines, was in charge of the weekly radioactive waste disposal and monitored the areas for contamination at the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies. Currently she works in the animal facility at IsoTherapeutics where she assists in animal care, metabolic studies, cancer treatment studies and animal procedures. She is trained in the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP).
Shannon Gonzales
Mrs. Gonzales, CG (ASCP) cm graduated from the University Of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center School Of Health Professions with a Bachelor’s of Science in Cytogenetics and currently is board certified with ASCP as a Technologist in Cytogenetics. She has 14 years of hands on animal experience which she gained through rehabilitating wildlife and working as a veterinary technician.
Shannon has been with Isotherapeutics since 2014 and has working background knowledge of proper animal care and handling which she uses while being involved in various animal studies. She also has experience in cell culture, Cryopreservation of cells, microscopy, Fluorescent microscopy, Fluorescence in situ hybridization, DNA extraction and chromosomal analysis.
JanMarie Dahl
Ms. Dahl is a laboratory technician who currently evaluates compounds for GMP compliant analytical sample release and performs metabolic animal studies. Her background includes working in the Laboratory of Investigative Medicine in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She performed tests on phases 1, 2 and 3 of already-developed new drugs geared for putting on the market, including ADME and grapefruit studies. Ms. Dahl also assisted in conducting further investigation of already FDA approved and marketed pharmaceutical treatments such as aspirin and various prescription medications. As a National Registry paramedic, she has working background knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, and metabolism. Ms. Dahl has a BS Chemistry and BA Biology.
Alan R. Ketring, Ph.D.
Dr. Alan Ketring was involved in the development of Tc-99m heart agents at the University of Cincinnati as a postdoctoral fellow in the research group of Ed Deutsch. Alan then had a brief stent at Mallinkrodt before becoming a scientist at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) In his role at MURR as director of the Medical Radioisotope Research and Development program, Alan is very familiar with the production and utility of a wide variety of radionuclides for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. His expertise in the production, use, safe handling, federal regulations and shipping of radioisotopes was criticalto the development of Quadramet and other potential radiopharmaceuticals currently in preclinical and clinical trials.
David A. Wilson
Mr. Wilson retired as a Senior Research Scientist in 2006 after more than 37 years of service for the Dow Chemical Company. David was instrumental in commercializing over 30 products during his career, has authored 228 confidential Dow Research Reports, 21 external publications including the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology section on “Chelating Agents”, and is an inventor on over 100 issued U.S. patents including key patents covering Quadramet® (153Sm-EDTMP) for the treatment of bone cancer and STR (166Ho-DOTMP) for ablating bone marrow prior to bone marrow transplants.
Wynn A. Volkert, Ph.D.
Dr. Volkert is the Director of the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute at the University of Missouri. Wynn is an icon in radiopharmaceutical chemistry. He was the main scientist at the University of Missouri responsible for initiating and developing two products from concept to commercialization. These include the Tc-99m based CeretecTM for brain imaging and Quadramet® for relief of pain in bone metastases. The latter is based on the rare earth radioisotope Sm-153. In addition, Wynn has spent the last few years developing new technologies for labeling peptides. His hard work and expertise have been key to the development of the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Institute at the University of Missouri which boasts a complete small animal imaging facility.
Alan R. Fritzberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Fritzberg is an Affiliate Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Washington. Alan made his mark in nuclear medicine early in his carrier as an inventor of kidney imaging agents. His work while at the University of Utah and the University of Colorado led to the Tc-MAG3 chelates that continue to be used for renal imaging today. He then founded NeoRx Corporation to develop novel approaches to treat cancer based primarily on Re-188 and Re-186. He and his scientific team explored a variety of technologies which makes him extremely versatile in the field. Among them are pretargeting technology to improve target to non-target ratio of antibodies and the development of Ho-166-DOTMP to treat multiple myeloma.
Theresa W. Fossum DVM,
MS, PhD; Diplomate, ACVS
Theresa (Terry) W. Fossum is a Professor of Surgery and holds the Tom and Joan Read Chair in Veterinary Surgery at Texas A&M University. She is a world renowned surgeon and serves as the Director for Cardiothoracic Surgery and Biomedical Devices in the Michael E. DeBakey Institute at TAMU. She was recently appointed Director of the new Texas A & M Institute for Preclinical Studies , a 70 million dollar venture at TAMU which will promote public-private partnerships to speed the development of medical devices and drugs. Dr. Fossum’s leadership was integral in conceptualizing and funding this Institute.
Dr. Fossum sits on the Board of Directors of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Foundation for Biomedical Research (FBR). Dr Fossum, along with Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, founded the CARE Foundation in 2004 in order to provide an infrastructure for veterinary medicine to perform research using animals with spontaneous disease. Dr. Fossum serves as President of the organization.