Hancheng Cai, Ph.D.

Hancheng Cai, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Radiology and the Director of Cyclotron and PET Radiochemistry Facility at Mayo Clinic in Florida. He is a clinical radiochemist and radiopharmaceutical scientist whose work focuses on radiotheranostics, integrating PET imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.

Dr. Cai leads the production and quality oversight of PET radiopharmaceuticals used in patient care and clinical research, ensuring compliance with FDA current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards. In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Cai directs a translational research program focused on developing innovative radiopharmaceuticals for disease diagnosis and treatment. His team advances novel imaging and therapeutic agents from molecular design and radiosynthesis to preclinical evaluation and first-in-human clinical studies, with a focus on precision radiotheranostic approaches for hard-to-treat cancers and other challenging diseases.

Dr. Cai earned his Ph.D. in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and completed postdoctoral training in PET radiochemistry and molecular imaging at the University of Southern California. Before joining Mayo Clinic in 2017, he served as Chief Radiochemist at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Personal note: Dr. Cai is passionate about mentoring the next generation of scientists and advancing innovative radiopharmaceutical technologies that expand diagnostic and therapeutic options for patients. His work bridges laboratory discovery and clinical care, helping translate cutting-edge molecular PET imaging and targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies into meaningful patient benefit.