From the onset of the PRISMAP consortium, we realised that we were not all talking the same language. The strength of PRISMAP is the bridge that we are building across many communities, from the basics of radionuclide production all the way to the preclinical studies, with all the links in the supply and research chain between. That strength is to be valued but also requires particular attention, and that attention is training.
It starts with having a strong basic understanding of the key concepts that are central to our field: radioactivity, radionuclide production, radiopharmaceuticals, medical imaging & therapy, and radioprotection. Those form the five core themes of the MOOC that PRISMAP is now supporting via ARRONAX with the partnership of Nantes Université.
PRISMAP also offers topical schools to provide advanced training in topics where we believe our community can really benefit. The focus of those trainings is to bring attention towards the state of the art, while also giving participants hands-on opportunities. In 2023, we offered three schools, organised by SCKCEN (Belgium), DTU (Denmark), and IST (Portugal). Meanwhile, we are organising two more in 2024: the PRISMAP school on Radionuclide Production in Leuven (Belgium) in the spring and the PRISMAP school on Medical Imaging in Riga (Latvia) in the autumn. Meanwhile, we also partner with other key events from the field, such as the ISI NucMed school organised in Nantes (France).
We use all those events to also build up a library of material for training and education on the education portal of the PRISMAP website. On that page, you will find the material we offer, as well as an introduction to our PhD Charter: a way to form a community of young researchers crossing our different fields. If you are a PhD student and you are interested in what PRISMAP does, make sure to have a look and sign up!
But training is not only for students and young researchers. Also experienced researchers might have a lot to learn about other fields within our community. As a nuclear physicist, I keep on learning every time I exchange with colleagues in radiopharmacy or in pre-clinical research. And that should also be one of our ambitions: to keep learning and find within PRISMAP the chance to share and exchange. This is why PRISMAP supports transdisciplinary participations in many conferences to promote this exchange of knowledge at all levels, such as during the public lecture of the ARIS conference in Avignon (France) or the PRISMAP participation in the Auger Symposium in Montpellier (France) last year.
Finally, all these developments and all this knowledge should be easily accessible for all. This is why PRISMAP has created an information portal where the state of the art in nuclear decay data, production of radionuclides, preparation of radiopharmaceuticals, quality control and metrology, and radioprotection & logistics are presented.