Young dynamic scientific woman, I have professional experiences, that either in industry (AREVA NC La Hague, treatment and recycling of used nuclear fuel site) or in laboratory (UNLV radiochemistry section, working on Technetium and Los Alamos National Laboratory, working on actinium chemistry).
My current interests are focused on developing fundamental concepts that advance use of radio-pharmaceutical anti-cancer agents. As such, my research lies at the intersection of synchrotron spectroscopy, radiochemistry, and inorganic chemistry. In general, I draw from my experiences in studying nuclear fuel cycles, technetium chemistry, and actinium and the other actinide elements to develop creative solutions to technical problems in radio-pharmaceutical chelation.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Inorganic Isotope and Actinide Chemistry group
February 2015
to March 2018
Full-time
Los Alamos
United States - New Mexico
Evaluate electronic structure and bonding in trivalent actinides (Ac, Am, Cm) vs. lanthanides for development of actinide technologies (e.g., separations relevant to nuclear forensics, development of advanced fuel cycles and use of actinide in alpha-therapeutic treatment of cancer)
Determined reproducible and high recovery radiochemical and chemical purification process for Ac-227 and Am-243
Synthesize actinium, americium and curium compounds for analysis
Use X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) spectroscopy at synchrotron facility for analysis
Designed triply containments for highly radioactive liquid sample analysis
Coordinated shipping of highly radioactive material to and from facilities
Wrote proposals for beam time access at Stanford, successfully
Benchmarked synthesis yield and purification process yield for Ac-227 chemistry using Ac-225 and gamma spectroscopy measurements
Compare Ac-227 XAS data with Am-243 and Cm-248 XAS data on known compounds to validate XAS methodology
Collaborated with theoretical group at LANL to create adequate models in order to analyze data from XAS experiments
