Research Summary

I have over 25 years’ experience with the preparation and application of radiopharmaceuticals. I have developed several imaging agents targeting cell surface proteins (receptors, enzymes and transporters) including receptor-based imaging agents for hormone receptors, growth factor receptors, neuroreceptors, and prostate-specific membrane antigen. I have developed imaging agents for cardiac blood flow and metabolism. These imaging agents have included a broad range of molecular motifs from small molecules, antibodies, antibody fragments (e.g., Fabs, scFv, and diabodies), and aptamers, to proteins and peptides. These molecules have been labeled with a variety of isotopes for PET and SPECT imaging. As part of the development of these imaging agents, I have been engaged in the evaluation and validation of the tracer mechanism of localization and retention at the target site. I have prepared several in vitro and in vivo model systems and interpreted the data collected from these systems to determine the utility of the probes. I have successfully translated many of these tracers into humans. I have helped to write and secure several INDs for first-in-human tracer studies.

Over the last 10 years, I have been working on the development of PSMA targeting prostate cancer imaging agents in collaboration with Dr. Clifford Berkman at Washington State University. I am currently PI on a DoD PCRP-funded proposal to prepare these agents for human imaging studies. I am also UCSF PI on an NIH SBIR funded to perform the first-in-man PET/MRI imaging studies. I am currently also evaluating a new agent to measure T cell activation, 18F-FAraG. The pharmacokinetics of agent has been assessed in normal human subjects and will be further evaluated following immunotherapy response."

Research Funding

  • July 15, 2025 - May 31, 2030 - In Vivo Imaging and Post-Mortem Study of Methamphetamine Use on Immune Dysfunction and HIV Reservoir Transcription among People with HIV on ART , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: RM1DA063218
  • December 16, 2024 - November 30, 2029 - Systematic Testing of a TGF? Targeted Theranostic in Preclinical Cancer , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA297601
  • July 21, 2025 - June 30, 2029 - Multimodal PET-CT imaging of SIVmac239 dynamics post-ART interruption , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AI195422
  • May 21, 2025 - April 30, 2029 - Endovascular Filtration to Change Drug Biodistribution (ELOCUTION) , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01EB036603
  • January 15, 2024 - December 31, 2026 - Improving availability of ImmunoPET via automation of radio-synthesis and quality control of antibody-based HIV imaging PET tracers on a single platform. , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R44AI162202
  • August 12, 2022 - July 31, 2026 - Molecular imaging of novel PARP inhibitor nanomedicine delivery , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA266666
  • August 12, 2020 - July 31, 2026 - In Vivo PET Imaging of HIV Infection , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AI152932
  • August 15, 2022 - May 31, 2026 - First-in-Human evaluation of an astrocytic glutamate transporter (EAAT2) PET tracer in healthy and Alzheimer's diseased brain , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AG072743
  • January 12, 2021 - December 31, 2023 - Molecular Imaging of persistent HIV: CD30 , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21AI152936
  • September 15, 2015 - August 31, 2021 - Mitigation of quality and compliance risks in radio-pharmaceutical production by implementation of an automated release testing technology. , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01FD005517
  • August 1, 2015 - July 31, 2021 - Molecular Imaging of Chemical Threats and Countermeasures , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01NS092495
  • September 1, 2018 - December 31, 2020 - Astroglial EAAT2 Changes in Live TBI Brain Determined by PET Imaging , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R41NS105309
  • September 18, 2019 - August 31, 2020 - Improving availability of ImmunoPET via automation of radio-synthesis and quality control of antibody-based cancer imaging PET tracers on a single platform. , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R43CA235909
  • July 15, 2014 - April 30, 2018 - In vivo reporters of gene expression , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21AI114283
  • August 1, 2012 - July 31, 2015 - PET and MR-Compatible Bioreactor for Cross-Platform Biomarker Development , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA171766
  • September 30, 2010 - August 31, 2013 - In Vivo Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Dispositions of Positron Radiolabeled , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21NS072079
  • June 1, 2007 - May 31, 2009 - MicroPET/CT for Small Animal Imaging , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: S10RR023051
  • September 5, 2002 - August 31, 2008 - Targeted Molecular Probes for Tumor Imaging , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA094253
  • March 10, 2003 - February 29, 2008 - Evaluation of Iodorotenone, A SPECT Perfusion Tracer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01EB000482
  • August 1, 1980 - August 30, 2002 - MYOCARDIAL FLOW, FUNCTION AND METABOLISM BY PET AND MRI , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01HL025840
  • February 1, 1999 - January 31, 2001 - DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER IMAGING AGENTS , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA079823

Education

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, B.S., 1984, Chemistry
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, M.S., 1986, Nuclear Chemistry
Washington University, St. Louis, MO, M.A., 1988, Nuclear Chemistry
Washington University, St. Louis, MO, Ph.D., 1990, Radiopharm. Chemistry
University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, Postdoctoral, 1992, Radiopharm. Chemistry

Honors & Awards

  • 1990-1992
    DOE Alexander Hollaender Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Outstanding Performance Award (1993, 1997, 1998, 2000)
  • 2006
    SNM President's Distinguished Service Award

Selected Publications

  1. Bunning S, Christodoulou D, Cohen JE, Cutler CS, Dick DW, Ghosh K, Ignace C, Kasliwal RK, Lee H, Marzella L, Pohlhaus T, Scott PJH, Schwarz SW, Syed IA, VanBrocklin HF, Wasil LR, Zigler SS. Proceedings: PET Drugs-A 2023 Workshop on Product Quality, Regulatory Submissions, Facility Inspections, and Benefit-Risk Considerations. View on PubMed
  2. Dakanali M, Zigler SS, Schwarz SW, Nickels ML, Oyama R, VanBrocklin HF, Scott PJH. Reply to "Foregoing Nonclinical Dosimetry Studies to Support First-in-Human Studies of Certain PET Radiopharmaceuticals". View on PubMed
  3. Bobba KN, Wadhwa A, Bidkar AP, Raveendran A, Garcia L, Greenland N, Wilson DM, Seo Y, VanBrocklin HF, Flavell RR. Evaluation of 134Ce/134La-PSMA-617 for PET Imaging and Auger Electron Therapy of Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med. 2025 08 01; 66(8):1252-1257. View on PubMed
  4. Bidkar AP, Peter R, Wadhwa A, Bobba KN, Bidlingmaier S, Meher N, Chou J, Greenland N, Dasari C, Naik S, Raveendran A, Basak M, Camara Serrano JA, Steri V, Kogan S, Oskowitz A, He J, Wilson DM, Aggarwal R, Sriram R, VanBrocklin HF, Seo Y, Liu B, Flavell RR. Effective Treatment of Disseminated Prostate Cancer Using CD46-Targeted 225Ac Therapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Jul 15; 31(14):2963-2977. View on PubMed
  5. Dakanali M, Zigler SS, Schwarz SW, Nickels ML, Oyama R, VanBrocklin HF, Scott PJH. FDA Reconsiders Rules Around Radiation Dosimetry for First-in-Human Studies of Investigational PET Radiopharmaceuticals. View on PubMed
  6. Buchsbaum JC, VanBrocklin HF, Hernandez R, O'Brien EM, Hennkens HM, Medvedev DG, Howell RW, Escorcia FE, Dewaraja YK, Jha AK, Kapadia AJ, Agasthya G, Rahmim A, Saboury B, Myhre K, Davern S. Computational Modeling to Advance Novel Medical Isotopes for Radiotheranostics: A DOE-NIH Joint Workshop Executive Summary. View on PubMed
  7. Chao CK, Blecha J, Polvoy I, Nillo RM, Seo Y, Wilson DM, Forsayeth JR, VanBrocklin HF, Gerdes JM. First-in-human healthy volunteer dosimetry studies of the excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2) PET imaging tracer methyl N4-(7-[18F]fluoro-9H-fluoren-2-yl)asparaginate, [18F]RP-115. Nucl Med Biol. 2025 Jan 14; 142-143:108992. View on PubMed
  8. Meher N, Bidkar AP, Wadhwa A, Bobba KN, Dhrona S, Dasari C, Mu C, Fong COY, Cámara JA, Ali U, Basak M, Bulkley D, Steri V, Fontaine SD, Zhu J, Oskowitz A, Aggarwal RR, Sriram R, Chou J, Wilson DM, Seo Y, Santi DV, Ashley GW, VanBrocklin HF, Flavell RR. PET Imaging Using 89Zr-Labeled StarPEG Nanocarriers Reveals Heterogeneous Enhanced Permeability and Retention in Prostate Cancer. Mol Cancer Ther. 2025 Jan 02; 24(1):141-151. View on PubMed
  9. Kandala AN, Wang S, Blecha JE, Wang YH, Lall RK, Niknejad AM, Seo Y, Evans MJ, Flavell RR, VanBrocklin HF, Anwar M. Millimeter-scale radioluminescent power for electronic sensors. iScience. 2025 Jan 17; 28(1):111686. View on PubMed
  10. Shrestha UM, Chae HD, Fang Q, Lee RJ, Packiasamy J, Huynh L, Blecha J, Huynh TL, VanBrocklin HF, Levi J, Seo Y. A Feasibility Study of [18F]F-AraG Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for Cardiac Imaging-Myocardial Viability in Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury Model. Mol Imaging Biol. 2024 Oct; 26(5):869-878. View on PubMed
  11. Peluso MJ, Ryder D, Flavell RR, Wang Y, Levi J, LaFranchi BH, Deveau TM, Buck AM, Munter SE, Asare KA, Aslam M, Koch W, Szabo G, Hoh R, Deswal M, Rodriguez AE, Buitrago M, Tai V, Shrestha U, Lu S, Goldberg SA, Dalhuisen T, Vasquez JJ, Durstenfeld MS, Hsue PY, Kelly JD, Kumar N, Martin JN, Gambhir A, Somsouk M, Seo Y, Deeks SG, Laszik ZG, VanBrocklin HF, Henrich TJ. Tissue-based T cell activation and viral RNA persist for up to 2 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Sci Transl Med. 2024 07 03; 16(754):eadk3295. View on PubMed
  12. Levi J, Guglielmetti C, Henrich TJ, Yoon JC, Gokhale PC, Reardon DA, Packiasamy J, Huynh L, Cabrera H, Ruzevich M, Blecha J, Peluso MJ, Huynh TL, An SM, Dornan M, Belanger AP, Nguyen QD, Seo Y, Song H, Chaumeil MM, VanBrocklin HF, Chae HD. [18F]F-AraG imaging reveals association between neuroinflammation and brown- and bone marrow adipose tissue. Commun Biol. 2024 07 01; 7(1):793. View on PubMed
  13. Jung J, Schneider EL, Zhang W, Song H, Zhang M, Chou W, Meher N, VanBrocklin HF, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Ozawa T, Gilbert MR, Santi DV. PLX038A, a long-acting SN-38, penetrates the blood-tumor-brain-barrier, accumulates and releases SN-38 in brain tumors to increase survival of tumor bearing mice. Sci Rep. 2024 06 19; 14(1):14175. View on PubMed
  14. Meher N, Ashley GW, Bobba KN, Wadhwa A, Bidkar AP, Dasari C, Mu C, Sankaranarayanan RA, Serrano JAC, Raveendran A, Bulkley DP, Aggarwal R, Greenland NY, Oskowitz A, Wilson DM, Seo Y, Santi DV, VanBrocklin HF, Flavell RR. Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Targeted StarPEG Nanocarrier for Imaging and Therapy of Prostate Cancer. Adv Healthc Mater. 2024 07; 13(19):e2304618. View on PubMed
  15. Bidkar AP, Zerefa L, Yadav S, VanBrocklin HF, Flavell RR. Actinium-225 targeted alpha particle therapy for prostate cancer. Theranostics. 2024; 14(7):2969-2992. View on PubMed
  16. Shrestha U, Chae HD, Fang Q, Lee RJ, Packiasamy J, Huynh L, Blecha J, Huynh TL, VanBrocklin HF, Levi J, Seo Y. A feasibility study of [18F]F-AraG positron emission tomography (PET) for cardiac imaging - myocardial viability in ischemia-reperfusion injury model. Res Sq. 2024 Apr 30. View on PubMed
  17. Wadhwa A, Wang S, Patiño-Escobar B, Bidkar AP, Bobba KN, Chan E, Meher N, Bidlingmaier S, Su Y, Dhrona S, Geng H, Sarin V, VanBrocklin HF, Wilson DM, He J, Zhang L, Steri V, Wong SW, Martin TG, Seo Y, Liu B, Wiita AP, Flavell RR. CD46-Targeted Theranostics for PET and 225Ac-Radiopharmaceutical Therapy of Multiple Myeloma. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 03 01; 30(5):1009-1021. View on PubMed
  18. Bobba KN, Bidkar AP, Wadhwa A, Meher N, Drona S, Sorlin AM, Bidlingmaier S, Zhang L, Wilson DM, Chan E, Greenland NY, Aggarwal R, VanBrocklin HF, He J, Chou J, Seo Y, Liu B, Flavell RR. Development of CD46 targeted alpha theranostics in prostate cancer using 134Ce/225Ac-Macropa-PEG4-YS5. Theranostics. 2024; 14(4):1344-1360. View on PubMed
  19. Hayes TR, Chao CK, Blecha JE, Huynh TL, VanBrocklin HF, Zinn KR, Gerdes JM, Thompson CM. [11C]Paraoxon: Radiosynthesis, Biodistribution and In Vivo Positron Emission Tomography Imaging in Rat. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2024 01 17; 388(2):333-346. View on PubMed
  20. Proal AD, VanElzakker MB, Aleman S, Bach K, Boribong BP, Buggert M, Cherry S, Chertow DS, Davies HE, Dupont CL, Deeks SG, Eimer W, Ely EW, Fasano A, Freire M, Geng LN, Griffin DE, Henrich TJ, Iwasaki A, Izquierdo-Garcia D, Locci M, Mehandru S, Painter MM, Peluso MJ, Pretorius E, Price DA, Putrino D, Scheuermann RH, Tan GS, Tanzi RE, VanBrocklin HF, Yonker LM, Wherry EJ. Author Correction: SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Nat Immunol. 2023 Oct; 24(10):1778. View on PubMed

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