SUMMARY
Geoffrey B. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., is a nuclear medicine specialist and thoracic radiologist whose research focuses on radiopharmaceutical cancer therapy and advanced molecular imaging. His work spans positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of malignancies, infectious and inflammatory diseases, and systemic amyloidosis.
As chair of Mayo Clinic's Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Cancer Trial Team, Dr. Johnson leads research at the world's largest modern theranostics center. In his prior role as chair of the Division of Nuclear Medicine, he led the teams that redesigned and built the modern radiopharmaceutical therapy practice at Mayo.
Dr. Johnson also is the founder and chief scientific officer of Nucleus RadioPharma, a company dedicated to accelerating radiopharmaceutical development and delivery. His innovations include the invention of radiopharmaceutical therapies, such as the Alpha-PET DoubLET platform that is now in clinical trials. He has served as a principal or co-principal investigator on numerous interventional trials targeting prostate, pancreatic, gastrointestinal, breast and brain cancers.
Focus areas
- Radiopharmaceutical therapy for cancer. Dr. Johnson leads and co-leads multiple clinical trials using targeted radiopharmaceuticals to treat advanced cancers. His work includes the SECuRE trial for prostate cancer and the TRACY-1 trial for breast cancer, with a focus on integrating imaging and therapy to improve outcomes.
- PET and SPECT scanner innovation. He advances PET and SPECT technologies to enhance diagnostic accuracy. His efforts include hardware and software improvements and the development of novel imaging agents for malignancies and systemic diseases.
- Imaging and diagnostics. Dr. Johnson pioneered cardiac amyloid imaging at Mayo Clinic and holds patents for diagnostic methods using SPECT-CT, PET-CT and PET-magnetic resonance (PET-MR). His work has enabled noninvasive diagnosis of cancer, infection, rare amyloidosis subtypes and meningiomas.
- Pancreatic cancer imaging. Dr. Johnson led the launch of Mayo Clinic's PET-MR practice, which assesses neoadjuvant therapy response in pancreatic cancer. He also co-leads a trial evaluating fibroblast activation protein inhibitors PET (FAPI PET) imaging to refine surgical eligibility for patients who have otherwise been refused surgery.
- Radiopharmaceutical infrastructure and translation. Through Nucleus RadioPharma and Mayo's Molecular Imaging Research program, Dr. Johnson builds infrastructure and supply chains to invent and bring radiopharmaceutical cancer therapies from concept to clinic.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Johnson's research helps healthcare professionals find and treat cancer earlier and more precisely. His work with radiopharmaceuticals gives patients with cancer new options when other treatments have failed. These therapies can target cancer cells directly. This reduces side effects and improves outcomes.
Dr. Johnson's imaging innovations help healthcare professionals see diseases more clearly. This leads to faster and more accurate diagnoses. Healthcare professionals could use these radiopharmaceutical therapies to stop cancer before it spreads.
Professional highlights
- Mayo Clinic:
- Member, Clinical Research Leadership Committee, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2024-present.
- Chair, Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Cancer Trial Team, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2023-present.
- Co-chair, Novel Therapeutics Disease Group, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2023-present.
- Associate director for radiology and radiopharmaceuticals, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, 2022-present.
- Medical director, Molecular Imaging Research Program, 2020-present.
- Carmen Award for Research Excellence, 2024.
- Chair, Division of Nuclear Medicine, 2016-2024.
- Program director, Nuclear Radiology Fellowship Program, 2013-2019.
- Carmen Award for Excellence in Clinical Practice, 2015.
- Physician/Scientist of the Year, Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, 2014.
- Founder and chief scientific officer, Nucleus RadioPharma, 2022-present.
- Radiological Society of North America:
- Honored Educator Award, 2015, 2017.
- Roentgen Resident Research Award, 2010.