Christin Sander

Assistant Professor

csander@mgh.harvard.edu
617-726-9034

Tagged:Brain, Brain Mapping, Clinical, fMRI, Functional Image Analysis, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kinetic Modeling, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Molecular Imaging, MRI, Multimodal Imaging, Neuroscience, PET, PET-MRI, Positron Emission Tomography, Preclinical, Psychiatry

Dr. Christin Sander’s research focuses on multi-modal functional brain imaging with combined MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography). Her main interests include (i) dynamic imaging of dopamine & glutamate neuroreceptor function through pharmacology and neuromodulation, (ii) advance multi-modal imaging techniques and translational experimental approaches and (iii) devise quantitative models of imaging signals. Her overall goal is to map molecular signaling pathways of the living brain to advance our understanding of brain disorders in psychiatry and drug addiction.

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Select Publications

1. Sander CY, Hooker JM, Catana C, Normandin MD, Alpert NM, Knudsen GM, Vanduffel W, Rosen BR, Mandeville JB. Neurovascular coupling to D2/D3 dopamine receptor occupancy using simultaneous PET/functional MRI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jul 2;110(27):11169-74.

2. Sander CY, Hooker JM, Catana C, Rosen BR, Mandeville JB. Imaging Agonist-Induced D2/D3 Receptor Desensitization and Internalization In Vivo with PET/fMRI. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2016 Apr;41(5):1427-36.

3. Sander CY, Mandeville JB, Wey HY, Catana C, Hooker JM, Rosen BR. Effects of flow changes on radiotracer binding: Simultaneous measurement of neuroreceptor binding and cerebral blood flow modulation. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2019 Jan;39(1):131-146.

Highlights

K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH)

Early Career Investigator Travel Award, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

CECI2 Early Career Investigator, Academy of Radiology Research

Junior Fellow, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

Changning Wang

Assistant Professor

Wang Lab

CWANG15@mgh.harvard.edu
617-724-3983

Tagged:Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, Brain, Chemistry, Clinical, Molecular Imaging, PET, PET-MRI, Positron Emission Tomography, Preclinical, Probe Development

Changning Wang, PhD, has a unique and broad background in molecular imaging, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences and neuroscience. After finishing his doctoral studies, he joined Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging as a research fellow and later as a trainee in the Harvard/MGH Nuclear Medicine Training Program, to expand his research skills in clinical imaging research. He is now an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. In the past few years, he has developed [11C]Martinostat as a robustly brain penetrant imaging agent with selectivity for class I HDACs. [11C]Martinostat is the first and only-to-date PET imaging probe for epigenetic research. He designed this probe in only a half year, an extremely short time. The exploratory IND for [11C]Martinostat was approved by the FDA for first-in-human trials and is the first tool of its kind available to characterize HDAC expression in the living human brain. Dr. Wang is leading the project of [11C]Martinostat clinical imaging in several patient groups. He is also working on developing new PET imaging probes targeting other epigenetic enzymes and using these tools for new drug discovery.

Education

PhD in Molecular Imaging, Case Western Reserve University

Select Publications

1. Wang C, Schroeder FA, Wey HY, Borra R, Wagner FF, Reis S, Kim SW, Holson EB, Haggarty SJ, Hooker JM. In vivo imaging of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in the central nervous system and major peripheral organs. J Med Chem. 2014 Oct 9;57(19):7999-8009.

2. Frullano L, Wang C, Miller RH, Wang Y. A myelin-specific contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging of myelination. J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Feb 16;133(6):1611-3.

3. Wang Y, Wu C, Caprariello AV, Somoza E, Zhu W, Wang C, Miller RH. In vivo quantification of myelin changes in the vertebrate nervous system. J Neurosci. 2009 Nov 18;29(46):14663-9.

Highlights

Scientific Innovations:

Dr. Wang played a major role in the development of the first epigenetic PET imaging probe, [11C]Martinostat, at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. The exploratory Investigational New Drug (eIND) for [11C]Martinostat was approved by the FDA in late July 2014 for first-in-human trials (IND # 123154). Currently, [11C]Martinostat is being used in multiple IRB-approved clinical research studies at MGH in patients with Huntington disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Schizophrenia, alcohol use disorder and multiple sclerosis.

Brain penetrant HDAC Inhibitors for CNS Disease Treatment. US 62/029,900 (2014)

PET radiotracer for histone deacetylases. US 61/892,966 (2013)

Website

Wang Lab

Abbas Yaseen

Assistant Professor

Optics @ Martinos

mayaseen@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

Tagged:Aging, Algorithm Development, Alzheimer's Disease, Brain, Hardware Development, Lifetime Imaging, Microscopy, Molecular Imaging, Multimodal Imaging, Optical Imaging, Optics, Preclinical, Stroke

Abbas Yaseen, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School specializing in advanced microscopy for minimally invasive, in vivo characterization of brain function in preclinical models. His group focuses on the development and application of high-resolution optical imaging technologies for investigating metabolic and immune characteristics of brain function and disease-related alterations. The overarching goal of these efforts is to characterize the etiologies of cerebral pathologies such as stroke and neurodegenerative disorders with cellular resolution to yield robust biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy.

Education

PhD in Bioengineering, Rice University

Select Publications

1. Gómez CA, Fu B, Sakadžić S, Yaseen MA. Cerebral metabolism in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease characterized by two-photon fluorescence lifetime microscopy of intrinsic NADH. Neurophotonics. 2018 Oct;5(4):045008.

2. Yaseen MA, Sutin J, Wu W, Fu B, Uhlirova H, Devor A, Boas DA, Sakadžić S. Fluorescence lifetime microscopy of NADH distinguishes alterations in cerebral metabolism in vivo. Biomed Opt Express. 2017 Apr 3;8(5):2368-2385.

3. Yaseen MA, Srinivasan VJ, Gorczynska I, Fujimoto JG, Boas DA, Sakadžić S. Multimodal optical imaging system for in vivo investigation of cerebral oxygen delivery and energy metabolism. Biomed Opt Express. 2015 Nov 20;6(12):4994-5007.

Website

Optics @ Martinos

Veronica Clavijo Jordan

Assistant Professor

The Caravan Lab

MCLAVIJOJORDAN@mgh.harvard.edu

Tagged:Breast, Cancer, Fibrosis, Molecular Imaging, Pancreas, Preclinical, Probe Development, Prostate

Dr. Clavijo Jordan’s interests include the use of molecular MR imaging to detect and characterize inflammation, fibrosis and cancer. She is particularly interested in understanding the role metals play in the development of disease. Recently, she and colleagues have been using molecular MRI probes that detect metals such as Zn and Cu. By stimulating the natural secretion mechanisms in secretory organs in vivo, it is possible to initiate the natural flux of these metals in organs including the pancreas, both endocrine and exocrine, and the prostate. This stimulatory paradigm allows researchers to interrogate the physiological metal flux, as well as its content. Recently, Dr. Clavijo Jordan and colleagues showed that a dysregulated zinc flux and loss of content can be detected with MRI in the prostate in models of prostate cancer. Using fibrosis, inflammation and metal-specific molecular probes, they intend to obtain a holistic view of disease with MRI.

Education

PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Arizona State University

Publications

1. Wang H, Jordan VC, Ramsay IA, Sojoodi M, Fuchs BC, Tanabe KK, et al. Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using a Redox-Active Iron Complex. J Am Chem Soc. 2019;141(14):5916-25.

2. Martins AF, Clavijo Jordan V, Bochner F, Chirayil S, Paranawithana N, Zhang S, et al. Imaging Insulin Secretion from Mouse Pancreas by MRI Is Improved by Use of a Zinc-Responsive MRI Sensor with Lower Affinity for Zn(2+) Ions. J Am Chem Soc. 2018;140(50):17456-64.

3. Clavijo Jordan MV, Lo ST, Chen S, Preihs C, Chirayil S, Zhang S, et al. Zinc-sensitive MRI contrast agent detects differential release of Zn(II) ions from the healthy vs. malignant mouse prostate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113(37):E5464-71.

Highlights

Patent issued:

Inventors: Christian Preihs, Jing Yu, Veronica Clavijo Jordan, Yunkou Wu, Khaled Nasr, A. Dean Sherry. “New Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents for Sensitive Detection of Zn2+ with MRI.” PCT/US2015/019928

Websites

The Caravan Lab