Walter Wolf, Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and chair of the Biomedical Imaging Science Initiative at USC, has earned the 2006 Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Pioneer Award for his contributions to nuclear medicine.

The award was presented during the Society for Nuclear Medicine’s 53rd annual meeting in San Diego.

“For nearly 50 years, Walter Wolf has continued to make major breakthroughs in the study of human biology and disease,” said SNM President Peter S. Conti, professor of radiology, pharmacy and bioengineering.

“He realized the need for pharmacists to specialize in the field of radioactive drug products when he joined USC in the late 1950s, establishing USC’s radiopharmacy program in the 1960s and running it for nearly 20 years,” said Conti, director of the PET Imaging Science Center at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

“It is an honor to receive the award,” said Wolf, a pioneer in the field of radiopharmacy, who explained that while it’s wonderful to get recognition for past research, he is “much more excited about the work I’ve yet to do.”

Wolf founded the USC Pharmacokinetic Imaging Program and has been its director since 1996. He served as director of its radiopharmacy program from 1969-1998.

Over the years, his research has focused on pharmacokinetic imaging, a novel approach that allows noninvasive studies of drug biodistribution, targeting and metabolism using both nuclear medicine imaging (including positron emission tomography) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques.

The senior consultant in radiopharmacy and pharmacology for the LAC+USC Medical Center since 1987, Wolf also has served there as director of radiopharmacy services; visiting assistant professor, assistant professor and associate professor, all with the USC School of Pharmacy; and research associate with the USC chemistry department.

A former president of the Education and Research Foundation for SNM, he earned a bachelor’s degree in the natural sciences and a master’s in organic chemistry, both from the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay. He earned his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Paris in France.

Each year since 1960, SNM presents the Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award for outstanding contributions to the field of nuclear medicine.

De Hevesy received the 1943 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in determining the absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination of radioactive compounds in the human body. His work led to the foundation of nuclear medicine as a tool for diagnosis and therapy, and he is considered the father of nuclear medicine.