Richard L. Wahl

RICHARD L. WAHL, the Henry N. Wagner Jr., M.D., Professor of Nuclear Medicine, is professor of radiology and oncology and was named Scientist of the Year in 2001 by the Academy of Molecular Imaging. He is among the first in the world to apply PET (positron emission tomography) technology to accurately diagnose, stage, and plan and assess treatment of a broad array of human cancers. Dr. Wahl, who joined Hopkins in 2000, has worked for over 20 years to develop “smart radiopharmaceuticals,” those that target tumor, not tissue. Such treatments are among the first personalized, targeted therapies for cancer. He is one of the inventors of radioimmunotherapy of lymphoma using radiolabeled anti CD20 monoclonal antibodies, a technology now approved for treating patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The holder of 14 U.S. patents, he is vice chair of new technology and business development in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science and director of nuclear medicine at the PET Center. He has published over 300 journal articles, 23 book chapters, and three books.