About

The Lucas Center was named in honor of Richard M. Lucas who was an entrepreneur, outdoorsman and philanthropist.  His foundation, created in his memory by his family, Mary, John and Don Lucas, dedicated the Richard M. Lucas Center with the vision that the Center would become the site for unprecedented interdisciplinary research illuminating an understanding of human physiology and lighting the way to revolutionary advances in the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

The Richard M. Lucas Center for Imaging was established in July 1992 through the generous support of the Richard M. Lucas Foundation for Cancer Research, and other donors such as the Baxter Foundation, the Levinthal Foundation, and the Phil N. Allen Trust.  Stanford University’s first Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Facility (CRF) was established at the Lucas Center at 1201 Welch Road in 2006 and continues to manufacture radiopharmaceuticals for clinical care and to support Stanford Medicine’s research efforts, which uses GE’s PET trace cyclotron to produce radioisotopes.  During this period the applications of nuclear medicine and cyclotron technologies have evolved significantly and has enabled Stanford to venture into new areas of therapy and research.  These new areas require new technology, infrastructure, and space for expansion.

In 2021, Stanford Radiology began efforts to build a new 3,500 sq ft, state-of-the-art facility at 1701 Page Mill Road (Commissioning date: early 2024).  This facility will provide the space needed for theragnostic pre-clinical research and solid targetry capabilities.  The second CRF facility will also serve as a much-needed back-up to meet clinical tracer demands at Lucas Center; and will also enable Stanford to adequately train radiochemists and be utilized for Radiology’s new Biomedical Physics program.