IPMD Director Jim Placke was searching for a job candidate who had experience in Good Manufacturing Practices, FDA compliance and medical isotopes production. Culler had all three.
Culler had worked at ORNL before, as a college intern in the 1990s.
“I always dreamed about working here again, but I just never saw the right role,” he said – until this position was posted.
“It was my dream job,” Culler said. “It was the only thing that could have pulled me away from Colgate Palmolive.”
Part of that is personal. Culler’s passion for medical isotopes – and for cancer treatments, in particular – grew after his own brother died nearly a decade ago after battling pancreatic cancer. Culler’s brother never wavered in his belief that Culler would find a treatment to help him, and his brother’s faith in him drives Culler to this day.
“Anything I can do to fight cancer, that’s what I want to do,” Culler said.
Right now, he believes the isotope actinium-225, used to target cancer inside the body with minimal damage to surrounding cells, is the best shot.
“It’s probably the most promising thing I’ve ever seen for cancer treatment,” Culler said – the biggest advance, he thinks, since proton beam therapy, which uses narrow beams of particles to irradiate diseased tissue. “If we can get actinium-225 across the finish line, get it FDA-approved and covered by Medicare and insurance, it could have an incredible impact on the cancer world.”
The division Culler joined in ISED was founded in 2022 with the goal of establishing routine production of in-demand isotopes. On Sept. 25, Ac-225 became the first.
Under IPMD, the entire production line of Ac-225 is being standardized, with new processes, staff and equipment to optimize it. The goal is for other isotopes to follow, once the lab has established routine Ac-225 production on a larger scale.
“We’re designing the program to accommodate all future medical isotopes,” Culler said.
This Oak Ridge National Laboratory news article "Ryan Culler: Advancing cancer-fighting isotopes is 'dream job'" was originally found on https://www.ornl.gov/news
