Research Summary

Robert Flavell, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Section of Molecular Imaging in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College, and his PhD from the Rockefeller University as part of the Tri-Institutional MD PhD program. He completed his one-year internship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Flavell completed a four-year diagnostic radiology residency at the University of California, San Francisco, where he also finished a Nuclear Medicine fellowship. In June 2016. he joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor in Residence. Since 2019, he has been the Chief of the Division of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics (formerly nuclear medicine), in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.

Dr. Flavell’s laboratory focuses on the development of new molecular imaging and therapeutic tools for better understanding of disease progression in patients with prostate and other cancers. One area of interest is the relationship between acidic interstitial pH and disease progression, where he has developed new tools to directly image tumor pH using hyperpolarized 13C MRI and positron emission tomography (PET). Another major focus is the development of novel theranostic agents, where new therapies are paired with imaging agents against the same target. Dr. Flavell's research spans from basic chemistry and chemical biology projects, to translational and clinical studies.

Research Funding

  • March 7, 2025 - February 28, 2030 - Selective treatment of acute myeloid leukemia with radioimmunotherapies targeting the active conformation of integrin beta-2 , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA297845
  • May 1, 2023 - April 30, 2028 - Systematic evaluation of toxicity and therapeutic efficacy in CD46 directed radioligand therapy , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA279203
  • July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027 - Development of CD46 theranostics for imaging and treatment of multiple myeloma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA271606
  • August 12, 2022 - July 31, 2026 - Molecular imaging of novel PARP inhibitor nanomedicine delivery , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA266666
  • September 17, 2021 - August 31, 2024 - ACE2-targeted PET radiotracers for investigating spatiotemporal distribution of SARS-CoV-2 organ injury and therapy response. , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01AI161829
  • May 1, 2018 - January 31, 2022 - Application of hyperpolarized 13C interstitial pH imaging to risk stratification in prostate cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21EB026012

Education

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, B.A., 1996-2000, Mathematics and chemistry
The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, laboratory of Dr. Tom W. Muir, PhD, 2002 - 2010, Peptide and protein chemistry, radiolabeling methods, and PET imaging
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, MD, 2002 - 2010, Medicine
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 2010 - 2011, Transitional year intern
Dept of Radiology, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, 2011 - 2015, Diagnostic radiology residency
Dept of Radiology, UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 2015 - 2016, Nuclear medicine fellowship

Honors & Awards

  • 2000
    Honors for undergraduate thesis in chemistry, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
  • 2013
    Introduction to Academic Radiology Program, American Roentgen Ray Society
  • 2014
    Certificate of Merit, 2014 Radiology Society of North America meeting
  • 2014
    University of California, San Francisco catalyst program consultation award
  • 2015
    Radiology Society of North America, Roentgen Resident Research award
  • 2015
    Association of University Radiologists Research Scholar Program
  • 2015
    Certificate of Merit, Radiology Society of North America Meeting
  • 2016
    Runner up, Surbeck Scholar’s Award, University of California, San Francisco
  • 2017
    Howard S. Stern Research Award, Society of Abdominal Radiology
  • 2017
    Prostate Cancer Foundation David Blitzer Young Investigator Award
  • 2017
    New Directions in Prostate Cancer Award, Prostate Cancer Program, UCSF
  • 2018
    Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Future Leaders Academy
  • 2019
    Dean's Prize in Mentoring, University of California, San Francisco
  • 2020
    Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging "Ones to Watch"

Selected Publications

  1. Kim H, Tang R, Shrestha UM, Chae HD, Levi J, Flavell RR, Seo Y. Evaluation of motion correction on myocardial [18F]F-AraG PET uptake using data-driven respiratory gating. Med Phys. 2026 Aug; 53(8):e70606. View on PubMed
  2. Moradpour M, Hong CM, Khan S, Tochayi AM, Yadav S, Flavell RR, Emmett L, Hope TA. Dynamic Changes in Tumor Burden in Patients Undergoing PSMA RLT. Eur Urol Oncol. 2026 Jun 30. View on PubMed
  3. Kim JM, Lee SH, Dhaene S, Ancona A, Kim J, López-Álvarez M, Sorlin AM, Blecha J, Zou W, Neumann KD, Mangiatordi GF, Lee E, Nidetky B, Flavell RR, Seo Y, Engel J, Ohliger MA, Desmet T, Wilson DM. Discovery of a Thermostable Nigerose Phosphorylase for the Efficient Chemoenzymatic Radiosynthesis of a S. aureus-Targeted 18F-Disaccharide. J Nucl Med. 2026 Jun 25. View on PubMed
  4. Lee S, Kim W, Kim D, Shin J, Huh Y, Bobba KN, Flavell RR, Cho G, Seo Y. Evaluation of radiation damage effects of low-energy Auger and conversion electrons emitted by 134Ce decay using a Monte Carlo method. Sci Rep. 2026 Jun 21. View on PubMed
  5. Chae HD, Shrestha U, Das M, Vasanawala MS, Behl D, Davar D, Srinivas S, Colevas AD, Sunwoo JB, Del Mar N, Pierini M, Guillen M, Garcia J, Omidvari N, Gupta N, Cabrera H, Blecha J, Cherry SR, VanBrocklin H, Flavell RR, Moslehi J, Seo Y, Levi J. Mitochondrial Imaging Detects Early Cardiac Changes Following Cancer Immunotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 May 13. View on PubMed
  6. Moradpour M, Moradi Tuchayi A, Yadav S, Jiang F, Burger IA, Pop SG, Surasi DS, Hussein A, Arora I, Aparicio A, de Kouchkovsky I, Flavell RR, Hope TA. Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Radioligand Therapy in Patients with Aggressive-Variant Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med. 2026 May 01; 67(5):739-743. View on PubMed
  7. Bidkar AP, Bidlingmaier S, Wadhwa A, Mayne E, Raveendran A, Naik S, Xue C, Basak M, Bobba KN, Patiño-Escobar B, Greenland N, Camara Serrano JA, Steri V, Chou J, Wiita A, He J, Wilson DM, Aggarwal R, VanBrocklin HF, Seo Y, Liu B, Flavell RR. Synergistic Treatment of Prostate Cancer and Multiple Myeloma using CD46-Targeted Radioimmunotherapy Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 Apr 15; 32(8):1540-1556. View on PubMed
  8. Leung AM, Brent GA, Larson SM, Osborne JR, Flavell RR, Ringel MD, Sosa JA. Counseling Female Thyroid Cancer Patients on Radioactive Iodine and Fertility. Thyroid. 2026 May; 36(5):547-548. View on PubMed
  9. Rasool N, Tefera E, Jiang AC, Nanji AR, Hage R, Levin MH, Bahroos E, Hoyt C, Flavell RR. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography as a Marker of Extraocular Muscle Function. Am J Ophthalmol. 2026 Jul; 287:178-187. View on PubMed
  10. López-Álvarez M, Lee SH, Wadhwa A, Bhat MY, Simmons TS, Kim JM, Bidkar AP, Simpson SR, Dhaene S, Steinberg JD, Blecha J, Flavell RR, McCue MD, Green AM, Sriram R, Desmet T, Engel J, Rosch JW, Ohliger MA, Neumann KD, Wilson DM. Detecting Bacteria in Their Mammalian Hosts Using Metabolism-Targeted [13C]CO2 Breath Testing. ACS Cent Sci. 2026 Apr 22; 12(4):457-472. View on PubMed
  11. Seo Y, Flavell RR. Clinical Translation of Antibody Positron Emission Tomography for Cancer Imaging. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 Feb 04; 32(3):445-446. View on PubMed
  12. Lee SH, Kim JM, López-Álvarez M, Sorlin AM, Bhat MY, Blecha J, Flavell RR, Seo Y, Engel J, Ohliger M, Wilson DM. Regioselective Glycosylation of Fluorine-18-Labeled Sorbitol for Enhanced Bacterial Detection In Vivo Using PET. JACS Au. 2025 Dec 22; 5(12):6189-6199. View on PubMed
  13. Chu DHT, Kuo-Esser L, Beckford-Vera DR, Flavell RR, Seo Y, VanBrocklin H, Henrich TJ, Deitchman AN. Dynamic PET imaging predicts broadly neutralizing antibody distribution and HIV prevention efficacy. medRxiv. 2025 Nov 28. View on PubMed
  14. Anju Wadhwa, Haley Johnson, Kamal Mandal, Kondapa Bobba, Anil Bidkar, Athira Raveendran, Ellis Mayne, Sham Rampersaud, Amrik S. Kang, Megha Basak, Marina Lopez-Alvarez, Sanghee Lee, Veronica Steri, David Wilson, Henry VanBrocklin, Youngho Seo, Jarrett J. Adams, Sachdev S. Sidhu, Arun Wiita, Robert Flavell. Selective treatment of acute myeloid leukemia targeting the activated conformation of integrin beta2 with [225Ac]Macropa-PEG4-7065. Nuclear Medicine and Biology. 2025 Nov 1; 150:109544. View on PubMed
  15. Wadhwa A, Johnson H, Bobba KN, Bidkar AP, Mayne E, Rampersaud S, Mandal K, Barpanda A, Prudhvi S, Kang AS, Greenland N, Balitzer D, Peter R, Raveendran A, Naik S, Basak M, Kasap C, Werner J, López-Álvarez M, Lee SH, Steri V, Adams JJ, Sidhu SS, Wilson DM, Seo Y, VanBrocklin HF, Logan AC, Wiita AP, Flavell RR. Effective imaging and treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia with radiotheranostics targeting the activated conformation of integrin-βeta2. Res Sq. 2025 Oct 29. View on PubMed
  16. U. Ali, C. Mu, J. Blecha, A. Wadhwa, N. Meher, A. Bidkar, S. Wang, Y. Seo, D.M. Wilson, H. VanBrocklin, R.R. Flavell. Development of 18F-labelled Zinc Biosensors and PET Imaging. Nuclear Medicine and Biology. 2025 Sep 1; 148:109082. View on PubMed
  17. J. Shin, Y. Seo, Y. Li, D. Diwanji, R. Flavell, Y.S. Yeom, S. Morato Rafet, C. Kitahara, C. Lee. Pretherapy Radiobiological Dosimetry Using Self-Calibrating Quantitative Hybrid Imaging for Metastatic Thyroid Cancer Treatment with 131I. International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. 2025 Sep 1; 123(1):e509. View on PubMed
  18. Wadhwa A, Johnson H, Bobba KN, Bidkar AP, Mayne E, Rampersaud S, Mandal K, Barpanda A, Prudhvi S, Kang AS, Greenland N, Balitzer D, Peter R, Raveendran A, Naik S, Basak M, Kasap C, Huebner J, Alvarez ML, Lee S, Steri V, Adams JJ, Sidhu SS, Wilson DM, Seo Y, VanBrocklin HF, Logan AC, Wiita AP, Flavell RR. Effective imaging and treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia with radiotheranostics targeting the activated conformation of integrin-βeta2. bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 25. View on PubMed
  19. Ringel MD, Sosa JA, Baloch Z, Bischoff L, Bloom G, Brent GA, Brock PL, Chou R, Flavell RR, Goldner W, Grubbs EG, Haymart M, Larson SM, Leung AM, Osborne JR, Ridge JA, Robinson B, Steward DL, Tufano RP, Wirth LJ. 2025 American Thyroid Association Management Guidelines for Adult Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid. 2025 08; 35(8):841-985. View on PubMed
  20. 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

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