Lionel S. Zuckier, M.D.

Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, ROOM H-128

973 972-6023

Dr. Zuckier is the Director of Nuclear Medicine and PET at University Hospital, Newark, and Professor of Radiology at the New Jersey Medical School. He is currently Director of Informatics within the Department of Radiology. At present, his research interests are centered on various clinical projects within nuclear medicine, reflecting areas of development and interest..

Recent industry-sponsored clinical research activities have included Phase I investigations of a Y-90 labeled anti-AFP antibody (AFP-Code, Immunomedics, Inc.), and Phase I investigations of a Y-90 labeled antibody for therapy of pancreatic carcinoma (Immunomedics, Inc.). An investigator-initiated project has been to develop a method of registering and fusing planar gamma-camera images with concurrently taken photographs of the region of interest, thereby providing a composite “fused” image which portrays the areas of nuclear medicine uptake (functional information) within the anatomic visual image. This technique is currently in the validation stage, with commercial interest in development. The technique has also been used in registration of xrays with visual images.

Clinical projects have recently included a comparison of F-15 and F-0 methods of furosemide renography, an analysis of radionuclide brain death studies performed over a several years period and the effect of image fusion on detection of FDG PET abnormalities. The latter project also has spawned an investigation into creation of realistic artificial FDG PET lesions for investigation of image display and perception.

Dr. Zuckier has been interested in development various devices for measurement of radioactivity. Investigator-initiated trials have included studies of a non-imaging scintillation probe for measuring penile blood flow, and a method of remotely monitoring I-131 therapy patients to determine time of hospital discharge in thyroid cancer patients, developed in collaboration with AWARE Electronics. This latter project has evolved into a method of monitoring of environmental background radiation levels, previously at Jacobi Hospital, Bronx, NY, and presently at the New Jersey Medical School. Data are immediately posted onto the World Wide Web, of potential usefulness today due to radiation terrorism concerns. Involvement in aspects of Homeland Security Monitoring has led to an interest in Personal Radiation Monitors, worn by security personnel, and the potential of patients, following nuclear medicine procedures, to trigger them. Based on testing of these detectors, and modeling of patient excretion of radiopharmaceuticals, we have constructed a web-based calculator which estimates the length of time that patients may trigger such a detector.

In the past, Dr. Zuckier's laboratory investigations have focused on optimizing improving attributes of monoclonal antibodies for use as diagnostic and therapeutic agents, including effects of avidity, and factors controlling antibody half-life and catabolism. He has also participated in a number of collaborative imaging and biodistribution experiments as applied to cancer research, infectious diseases, and auto-immune disorders, including investigations at UMDNJ on efficacy of ovelly radiolabeled antibodies for cancer therapy.

Dr. Zuckier continues to contribute to textbooks, and clinical papers in nuclear medicine (links to listings at bottom of page). Most recent textbook contributions include "Investigation of vascular and structural abnormalities of the penis" in Kandeel, Swerdloff and Pryor (eds). Male Sexual Dysfunction: Pathophysiology and Treatment (2007), "Principles of Nuclear Medicine Imaging Modalities" in the textbook Principles and Recent Advances in Medical Imaging and Image Analysis (2007) edited by Dhawan, Huang and Kim and "Liver, Spleen and Biliary Tree" in the textbook Clinical Nuclear Medicine (2007) edited by Biersack and Freeman. A second edition of Nuclear Medicine Board Review: Questions And Answers for Self-Assessment, coedited by Dr. Zuckier and others, has been released.

Dr Zuckier has received an internal UMDNJ Foundation Grant to develop a web-based system of training and credentialing in emergency Nuclear Medicine studies (still pending!) and has collaborated on a web-based teaching program entitled “KI Health Effects and Emergency Preparedness”, developed at NJMS. Involvement in estimating the potential of nuclear medicine procedures to trigger Homeland Security Detectors has been featured in a press conference at RSNA 2004 and in citations in the medical/scientific and lay press.

Dr. Zuckier is currently on the American Board of Radiology subcommittee creating the MOC recertification examination in nuclear medicine/radiology. He also continued to review articles and books for medical journals including Radiology, Sports Medicine and IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging. Dr. Zuckier contributes audio reviews of nuclear medicine material to the audio journal Practical Reviews in Radiology

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File Updated: 9/2007