Reading Time: 4 Minutes
Takeaways
- Invisible but essential work: Mark and John’s tireless work and expertise keeps PET imaging running—without them and a few other dedicated employees, cancer diagnosis and care across the region could halt.
- High-stakes, mission-driven role: An around-the-clock responsibility, working with cyclotrons requires technical skill and a personal commitment to ensure patients receive timely, life-saving imaging and treatment support.
Impact: Huntsman Cancer Institute extends its impact far beyond its walls by powering critical imaging and research across the region—ensuring patients receive timely diagnoses and advancing the future of cancer care.
Most patients never see it.
Many don’t know it exists.
But deep inside Huntsman Cancer Institute, long before the sun rises, a machine the size of a small room hums to life—powering one of the most critical tools in modern cancer care: PET scans.
And making sure it never stops are Mark Stufflebeam and John Gibby.
In The Midnight Hour
The cyclotron—a highly specialized piece of equipment that produces radioactive tracers used in PET imaging—typically runs from midnight to 6 a.m. But those hours are just the beginning.
“I was on the night shift for 20 years, until 2023, and now we have two operators, Joseph Hunter and Brandon Haubrich, who help ensure the cyclotron operates smoothly each day. Their work is critical to keeping this process on track.”
“It’s an extremely heavy technical position,” says Jeffrey Yap, PhD, director of the Center for Quantitative Cancer Imaging and Theranostics at Huntsman Cancer Institute and research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the University of Utah. “No one can touch the equipment but them.”
That responsibility carries enormous weight. If something goes wrong and isn’t fixed quickly, the consequences ripple far beyond one building.
“If they don’t fix it, no patient in the state of Utah—or even across the region we serve—gets a PET scan that day,” Yap says. “It would cause immense disruption to patient care.”
When Everything Is on the Line
On a typical day, the cyclotron supports 20 to 30 PET scan patients at Huntsman Cancer Institute. It also supplies doses and materials to other locations in Utah and surrounding states, fueling clinical care and research alike.
But there is nothing typical about the job.
“There is no ‘down for a day’ here,” Mark says.
When something breaks—and it does, about once a month—it’s rarely simple.
“In the last two weeks, we’ve had two pipes leak and flood the electronic room with water,” Yap says. “They’re the canary in the coal mine. Plumbing, ventilation, power—anything with the facility, they’re usually the first responders.”
That work extends beyond John and Mark. Huntsman Cancer Institute’s facility team—Brian Miller, Ron Camomile, Ben Miller, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Jones—play a vital role in keeping the operation running. They manage critical infrastructure like pipes, exhaust systems, and building operations, often under the same demanding conditions.
In one recent example, Ben was called in at 2 a.m. when an exhaust fan failed—highlighting the around-the-clock effort required to support the cyclotron and patient care.
Most of the time, patients never know anything went wrong.
“That’s a credit to them,” Yap adds.
Built for the Job
Both John and Mark bring decades of experience—and a unique path—to the role.
Mark started in avionics as a Marine Corps technician from 1975 to 1981, developing the precision and attention to detail that now define his work. He later worked for GE, the company that built Huntsman Cancer Institute’s first cyclotron, and helped install the system in 2002 before officially joining the staff here in 2009.
John, a University of Utah graduate, joined the team in 2004 as a radiochemist. Over time, he transitioned into cyclotron engineering, working the overnight shift until 2023 and learning every inch of the operation.
“Mark is smart as a whip,” John says. “I’ve learned so much from him.”
Both completed specialized factory training—making them the only people qualified to operate and repair the machine.
When You Can’t Clock Out
Their busiest stretch runs from Friday through Monday. After production cycles end, they take the cyclotron apart, perform maintenance, troubleshoot issues, and prepare it for the week ahead.
The rest of the time, they’re on call.
And that unpredictability can be one of the hardest parts.
“The hardest part is not knowing,” Mark says. “You’re on call all day, every day.”
John agrees.
“I’ve had to walk out of several dinners and movies with my wife and family,” Mark says. “You don’t go home until things are working correctly. There is no set time.”
Driven by Purpose
Despite the long hours and constant pressure, both men are deeply connected to the mission.
For John, it comes down to one thing: patients.
“Someone is going through something,” he says. “Patient care is my priority.”
Mark, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018, sees the work from both sides.
He’s also inspired by the future of cancer treatment—especially advancements in theranostics, which combine diagnosis and therapy using targeted radioactive compounds.
“You can use a metal, like copper, one way to image something, and another way to treat it,” he explains. “Another exciting thing we see is that the research happening now becomes standard care in just a few years.”
Hidden Hope
Their work is complex, technical, and often invisible.
But it is also indispensable.
“They are truly invaluable to us and the work we do, if they didn’t do what they do, everything would fall apart.”
It’s a bold statement—but one that reflects reality.
Every successful scan, every early diagnosis, every research breakthrough tied to PET imaging depends on a machine most people never see—and two people who make sure it never stops.