Nora Wilke

When did you join Brookhaven Lab, and how did you find your way here?

I first started at the Lab in 2018 as a student intern with the medical isotope group while I was an undergraduate at Binghamton University. After graduating in 2021, I started working here as part of the staff!

What is your job at Brookhaven?

I am a Medical Isotope Operator in the Isotope Research and Production Department (IP). We take irradiated targets and process them in our hot cells to extract a final product: a medical isotope that gets shipped out to customers for medical research.

What inspires your work here?

My degree is in biomedical engineering, so I have always had a passion for being in a profession that works to improve people’s health. Knowing that my work here at Brookhaven could eventually lead to improved cancer treatment for others makes what I do every day worthwhile.

What is your favorite story about your job?

About a year after I began working at IP, the newest hot cells were nearing completion and our first ever processing of actinium-225 (Ac-225 ), a promising isotope for cancer treatment, was about to start. I remember being very busy trying to get any last-minute preparations done and the intense pressure for the commissioning run. When we got through the first production run of Ac-225, I felt so proud of the operating staff for achieving that milestone.

What future activity at the Lab are you most excited about?

I am most excited about the future CARP (Clinical Alpha Radioisotope Processing) facility. This is a big step for Brookhaven to increase isotope production. I am excited to be a part of something that can lead to an effective cancer treatment method.