Ward Storms
Ward Storms graduated as Master in Drug Development in 2023, with a specific interest in preclinical evaluation of new modalities (e.g. PROTACs, ASOs, CAR-T). In line with this interest, he started his PhD at the Lab for Radiopharmaceutical Research (KU Leuven) that same year, working on the theranostic application of Al18F-/213Bi-labeled radiopharmaceuticals for both FAP and SSTR2. After working on the diagnostic part of the project on internal funding, he recently acquired an FWO aspirant scholarship and he is moving towards the preclinical evaluation of the therapeutic counterparts.
During his educational journey, Ward acquired a broad skillset during internships (1-Year industry internship, Galapagos NV, Belgium), research stays (Erasmus MC, The Netherlands; NuMeRI, South Africa) and specialized courses (FELASA B; LigandTracer Workshop; IAEA Technical Workshop). His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as been presented at several international conferences (iSRS2025, EANM2025, TWC2026, ESRR2026).
His ambitions lie in the exploration of new theranostic combinations and new targets, finding the balance between rationale-based preclinical evaluation and efficient development workflows. To demonstrate this, he currently works on the preclinical development of Al18F/213Bi-labeled theranostics within advanced, physiologically-based in-vitro/in-vivo models.
Summary of Ward’s research
· Development and preclinical evaluation of Al18F-/213Bi-FAP theranostics, based on 3p-C-NETA chelator
· Automatization of radiolabeling processes using the Trasis AllInOne module
· Fundamental research into agonist/antagonist binding to GPCRs, using SSTR2-radiopharmaceuticals
· Binding kinetic studies employing LigandTracer® Yellow and Grey Devices
Storms, W., Celen, S., Maes, J. et al. cGMP-compliant high-yield automated production of [18F]AlF-FAPI-74: optimization of quality control and evaluation of molar dose impact. EJNMMI radiopharm. chem. 11, 3 (2026).
Published abstracts:
EP-1175: cGMP-compliant implementation of high-yield automated [18F]FAPI-74 production with optimized quality control (E-Poster)
Annual Congress of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, October 4–8, 2025 | Barcelona, Spain, EANM Innovation (2025), Volume 1, Supplement, S846, https://doi.org/10.1016/S3051-2913(25)00004-7
P-145 Development & preclinical evaluation of [18F]AlF-3p-C-NETA-JR11: a promising Al18F-labeled SSTR2 antagonist for improved PET sensitivity (Poster)
Ward Storms, Maryana Handula, Christopher Cawthorne, Michel Koole, Christophe Deroose, Yann Seimbille, Janke Kleynhans, Frederik Cleeren; Nuclear Medicine and Biology (2025); Volumes 150–151, Supplement,109316, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2025.109316.
Ward Storms, Noluthando Dludla, Tomas Opsomer, Maarten Ooms, Christophe Deroose, Janke Kleynhans, Frederik Cleeren, Development & Preclinical evaluation of [18F]AlF-/[213Bi]-3p-C-NETA-FAP2286, a perfect match for short-lived PET imaging and TAT., EANM Innovation (2026), Volume 2, Supplement, 100033, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eanmi.2026.100033