What is joanna fowler?

Joanna Fowler is an American chemist and pioneer in the field of positron emission tomography (PET). She was born on September 13, 1942, in New York City and graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.S. in chemistry in 1964. She received her Ph.D. in radiochemistry from the University of Colorado in 1967.

Fowler worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory for more than four decades, where she developed radiotracers and imaging techniques to study the human brain and metabolic changes in cancer. She is credited with inventing the synthesis of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), which is the most commonly used radiotracer in PET scans. Her work has contributed significantly to the understanding and treatment of addiction, schizophrenia, and cancer.

Fowler has received numerous awards for her groundbreaking work, including the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific award in the United States, in 2009. She has also been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Fowler is currently a senior scientist emeritus at Brookhaven National Laboratory.