Michael Welch

Michael J. Welch was a distinguished professor of chemistry and radiology at Washington University in St. Louis, where he made groundbreaking contributions to radiopharmaceutical chemistry within the Chemistry discipline. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in natural sciences from Cambridge University and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of London in 1965, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Welch joined the Washington University School of Medicine faculty in 1967 and held professorships in radiology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, and developmental biology. Over his 45-year career, he served as founding leader of the Oncologic Imaging Research Program at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, and was instrumental in establishing the university’s world-class imaging center and the world’s leading radiochemistry program. A member of the cancer center’s senior leadership, he advanced positron emission tomography (PET) development in the early 1970s under mentor Michel Ter-Pogossian.

Welch specialized in radiopharmaceutical chemistry, developing practical techniques for rapid synthesis of short-lived tracers essential for PET in biomedical research and clinical imaging. His innovations included O-15 tracers for measuring cerebral blood flow and metabolism, spurring functional neuroimaging, as well as agents for studying hypoxia, tumor receptors, antigens, and chemotherapy outcomes, with applications across various cancers. Recent efforts involved an $18 million NIH contract for nanosystems in diagnosis and therapy. Authoring more than 550 papers, four books, and 73 book chapters, Welch was widely regarded as the global leader in his field, mentoring numerous doctoral candidates and postdoctoral fellows who attained senior academic roles. His honors encompassed election to the Institute of Medicine, the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Benedict Cassen Award and Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award, the naming of the Michael J. Welch Award in 2008 for radiopharmaceutical research contributions, Washington University’s Distinguished Faculty Award and Second Century Award, and honorary fellowship of the American College of Radiology. He presided over the Society of Nuclear Medicine from 1984 to 1985 and was the first president of the Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences.