Thomas A. Hope

Thomas A. Hope, MD is Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Chief of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is one of the foremost experts in the United States on somatostatin receptor-targeted imaging and therapy for NETs, with particular expertise in Ga-68 DOTATATE PET/CT imaging and Lu-177 DOTATATE PRRT. He led the pivotal US study validating Ga-68 DOTATATE PET/CT for NET staging that supported FDA approval of this radiopharmaceutical in 2016, transforming NET imaging practice. Dr. Hope has built one of the largest PRRT programs in North America at UCSF, treating hundreds of NET patients annually and developing novel PRRT optimization protocols including personalized dosimetry, combination radiosensitization strategies, and early-phase alpha-particle PRRT approaches. He leads the PRRT research program for the UCSF-OHSU Theranostics Center and has been a principal investigator on multiple prospective trials evaluating PRRT sequencing, dosimetry-guided dosing, and next-generation radioligand therapies targeting NETs and other SSTR-expressing tumors. Dr. Hope is a national leader in the emerging field of theranostics — the integration of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals — and has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles on nuclear oncology. He is a frequently invited speaker at ASCO, SNM (Society of Nuclear Medicine), and international NET symposia.