People

Dr. Pike graduated in chemistry from the University of Birmingham (U.K.) in 1972, and gained a PhD degree in organic chemistry from the same University in 1975. After 2 years as a Research Fellow in Biochemistry (University of Birmingham/University of London), Dr. Pike joined the MRC Cyclotron Unit at Hammersmith Hospital (Imperial College, U.K.) as a Staff Scientist and became Head of its Chemistry and Engineering Section. In 2001 Dr. Pike joined the nascent Molecular Imaging Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA) as its Chief of PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Pike’s research interests range through medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry methodology and radiotracer design, synthesis and evaluation, as represented in well over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Pike has received a number of awards for his research, serves on editorial boards of journals in his field and has held honorary positions at the University of London (Senior Lecturer) and the University of Surrey (U.K.; Visiting Professor).

Kierra Riley has been working in human services for over 12 years from Department of Social Services to numerous Housing Authorities in the Washington DC area. With her knowledge and experience she is dedicated in her new role with administrative duties, and proud to support the dynamic NIMH organization.

Dr. Cai is a staff scientist of the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section (PRSS), Molecular Imaging Branch (MIB) of the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He was born in 1964, grown up in China, and obtained BSc majored in chemistry from Sichuan University in 1985. He obtained his PhD of organometallic chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1992 and did his postdoctoral work at Harvard University until 1995. He was an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago before he joined NIMH in June, 2002. He was the recipient of K. C. Wong Education Foundation Fellowship (1987-1989) and Bernard Smaller Prize of the University of Chicago (1992). Dr. Cai’s research at the NIMH has focused on design and synthesis of radiopharmaceutical ligands for PET imaging of neuron degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and development of radiolabeling methods for PET tracers. Dr. Cai studies the PET imaging of the lesions involved in neurodegenerative diseases. He is interested in design and synthesis of ligands that bind selectively and specifically with Abeta-amyloid, alpha-synuclein, and hyper-phosphorylated tau-aggregates, which are believed to be the lesion responsible for those degenerative diseases. Those ligands selected from in vitro assays will be subjected to rodent studies, non-human primate studies, and eventually human studies, in collaboration with other scientists within the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences section (PRSS, Chief Dr. Victor Pike) and within the Molecular Imaging Branch (MIB, Chief Dr. Robert Innis). He has more than 30 publications and one patent.

Dr. Shuiyu Lu is a Staff Scientist (since June 2002) in the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health. He received his BSc (Organic Chemistry, 1983) from Nanjing University, China and PhD (Synthetic Organic Polymer Chemistry, 1991) from the University of Manchester, England. He spent two-years at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland as a postdoctoral fellow. Dr. Lu’s early research focused on the formation and transformation of macromolecules. He became a Research Fellow at the Department of Chemistry, University of Surrey, England (1994-2002) where he was at the forefront to develop novel methodologies for the preparation and application of isotopically labeled compounds, both stable and radioactive. Notably he was leading the efforts to develop microwave-enhanced dueteriation/tritiation procedures, where microwave dielectric heating that transforms electromagnetic energy to heat provides direct access by the energy source to the chemical reaction media, for rapid, highly atom-efficient radiolabeling. At NIMH Dr. Lu’s research is centered on the development of rapid, reliable and safe PET radiolabeling methodologies through the application of new reagents and innovative technologies. He is also engaged in targeted radioligand development. His current research interests include (1) radiolabeling with fluorine-18 under microwave conditions; (2) radiolabeling utilizing nucleophilic assisted leaving groups (NALGs) under microwave conditions; (3) the application of micro reactor (microfluidics) technology to PET radiosynthesis and (4) the synthesis and evaluation of agonist 5-HT1A receptor radioligands.

Dr. Fabrice Simeon, PhD is a Staff Scientist who joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health as a Visiting Fellow in March 2003. He received his BSc (Organic Chemistry, 1993) and PhD (Synthetic Organic Chemistry, 1998) from the University of Caen, France. Dr. Simeon’s early research focused on the fast methods for the synthesis of organic molecules using either microwave irradiation or organometallic catalytic systems. Before joining the MIB in Bethesda, MD, he spent two years at the department of Life Sciences of the French Energy Atomic Commission (Cyceron, Caen) as a postdoctoral Chemist Engineer. During this period he was introduced to PET radiochemistry for imaging brain receptors. One of his first targets was the preparation and labeling with [11C]KCN of a high affinity ligand to the trypsine plasminogen activator (tPA) which is involved in the processes leading to cerebral ischemia.

At NIMH Dr. Simeon’s major research topic is focused on the development of new ligands and radioligands for imaging the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor, Subtype 5 (mGluR5) in vivo with PET. He is also engaged in other radioligand developments and some more fundamentally oriented research. His current other topics of research include (1) the radiolabeling of iodonium salts with fluorine-18 under microwave conditions; (2) the synthesis and evaluation of the molecular and biologic properties of ligands for the Peripheral Benzodiazepines Receptors (PBR); (3) the preparation of documentation (e-INDs) to be submitted to FDA for use of new ligands in human studies.

Dr. Sanjay Telu is a Staff Scientist in the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section (PRSS), Molecular Imaging Branch (MIB) of the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Telu obtained a MSc Degree in Chemistry from Osmania University (Hyderabad, India). He received his PhD from the University of Akron in 2006 under the supervision of Dr. Gerald F. Koser. Dr. Telu’s doctoral research focused on the investigation of hypervalent iodine (III) reagents in C-H bond activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heteroaromatic compounds. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow (2007-2008) at the University of Iowa, where he explored methods for the syntheses and applications of fluorinated diaryliodonium salts, and fluorescent probes. He joined PRSS in 2008 as a postdoctoral research fellow. Dr. Telu worked on several PET radioligands development projects and several novel radiolabeling methodologies during his postdoctoral term. He transitioned into a Radiochemist position in 2013, where his primary responsibility was in the production of radiotracers for PET studies. He contributed to the research efforts of PRSS in the form of PET radioligand development for Phosphodiesterase subtype 4D (PDE4D) and development of numerous radiolabeling methodologies based on novel synthons such as [¹¹C]fluoroform and [¹¹C]COF₂.

Dr. Telu converted to a Staff Scientist position in 2023. His current research interests focus on the discovery, development, and preclinical evaluation of PET radiotracers for phosphodiesterase enzymes, neuroinflammation and chemogenetic applications, radiolabeling methodologies, and translation of preclinical PET radiotracers to clinical applications; preparation of documentation for eINDs and production of the PET radiotracers in the cGMP laboratory for human PET imaging studies.

Dr. Meijuan Jiang received her BSc in Chemistry (2013) from Fudan University Shanghai, China and PhD in Chemistry from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2017) under the supervision of Prof. Benzhong Tang. Her doctoral research was on the synthesis and application of aggregation-induced emission fluorophores for bioimaging. From Sept. 2017 to Aug. 2018, she was a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Benzhong Tang’s group, followed by postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoyuan Chen from Oct. 2018 to Sept.2020. Her work focused on design and synthesis of tumor responsive prodrugs/probes for tumor/cancer nanotheranostics.

In October of 2020, Dr. Jiang joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Science Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health as a Postdoctoral Fellow. Her current research is on synthesis of 18F and 11C-labeled radioligands for PET imaging in brain and development of new labeling methodologies.

Dr. Sridhar Goud Nerella obtained his PhD degree in Medicinal Chemistry (2019) from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, India. During his doctoral research, he designed and developed novel inhibitors to target specific cell signaling pathways, performed In-silico molecular docking studies using Schrodinger software, established various synthetic routes for potentially bioactive molecules with structure-activity relationship studies. He subsequently joined the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India as a Research Associate of Radiochemistry (2019-20), mainly focusing on radiosynthesis and quality control of [18F]FDG, [11C]methionine, 99mTc-trodat and other radiotracers using GE tracer lab synthesis modules MX, FX2C, and FX2N for daily patient’s service and also on synthesis of 18F- and 11C-based research radiotracers for PET imaging in oncological and neurological conditions.

In Nov. 2020, Dr. Nerella joined Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH as a Postdoctoral fellow. His ongoing research centers on development of chemogenetic tools for neurosciences.

Dr. Qunchao Zhao received his BSc in Applied Chemistry from East China University of Science and Technology (2015) and PhD in Organic Chemistry from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2020) under the supervision of Profs. Long Lu and Qilong Shen. His doctoral research focused on the development of new fluoroalkylthiolating reagents and their application in radiochemistry. From Aug. 2020 to Oct. 2021, he was a research assistant in Prof. Long Lu group, developing new fluorinating methods. In November 2021, Dr. Zhao joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Science Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health as a Postdoctoral Fellow. His current research is on development of new 18F and 11C labeled methodologies.

Dr. DeMent began research in 2013 under Professor James Gloer, working to isolate and identify new and interesting fungal metabolites. After graduating from the University of Iowa, in 2017 with a B.S. in chemistry, Paul joined the research group of Professor Hien Nguyen at Wayne State University. Working under Dr. Nguyen, Paul focused on catalytic development for stereospecific glycosylations of fluorinated carbohydrates. He graduated with his PhD in Organic Chemistry in May of 2022, and joined the NIMH as a postdoctoral fellow in June of 2022.

Mudasir earned his PhD in chemistry from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India (2020) under the supervision of Prof. Nasimul Hoda. During his doctoral research, he worked on structure-based design, synthesis and biological evaluation of anti-neurodegenerative agents. In 2018, he was awarded with Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) fellowship by the government of Finland, which enabled him to work with Dr. Jianwei Li’s group at the University of Turku, Finland (September 2018 to February 2019) where his project was about the synthesis of carbohydrate modified dithiol building blocks for lectin detoxification in human from a dynamic combinatorial chemistry approach. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo, Norway with Prof. Patrick Riss (2020–2023), where he was mainly involved in development of new radiolabeling methods with fluorine-18. He also contributed to the development of potent pyrrolidine-based fibroblast activation protein (FAP) inhibitors.

Dr. Mudasir Maqbool now serves as a Radiopharmaceutics postdoctoral fellow in Molecular Imaging Branch at National Institute of Mental Health (NIH). He became a part of the section in February 2023. Presently, Mudasir is focused on imaging brain cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2R) in both rodents and non-human primates (NHPs). Additionally, he is engaged in PET imaging studies targeting receptors such as COX-1 and PDE4B in NHPs.

Dr. Phuc Tran received his B.S. (Chemistry, 2012) and M.S. (Chemistry, 2023) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 2018, he started his doctoral study under supervision of Dr. Hong-Yu Li at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science. His research focused on diversifying the quinazoline scaffold targeting AURB and GBF1 for oncological and influenza application, as well as development of proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC). He graduated with the PhD in Pharmaceutical Science in November 2023, and joined the Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH as a Postdoctoral fellow in January 2024. Dr. Tran’s research will focus on radiochemistry development as well as tracer development. 

Cheryl Morse is a production chemist working on development and synthesis of radiotracers for PET studies in animal and human subjects. She received her BS degree in Chemistry (1999) and MS in Organic Chemistry (2000) from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. Before joining NIH in 2004, she worked at two pharmaceutical companies focused on small molecule and peptide synthesis. Her work with the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section includes labeling of novel compounds with [18F]FMeBr and [18F]FEtBr, routine production of [18F] and [11C] labeled radiotracers for clinical studies, and development of processes and documentation in support of Investigational New Drug applications.

Dr. Jinsoo Hong obtained his PhD (electrochemistry) in 2012 from part time study at George Mason University. Before coming to the Molecular Imaging Branch in 2002, Dr. Hong worked as an organic chemist at Life Technologies Inc. (1999-2002) on the design of multistep syntheses for lipoproteins as transfection agents. At NIH, he establishes and performs regular radiotracer production for PET studies in human and animal subjects with automated radiosynthesis apparatus. He repairs and services commercial radiochemistry equipments such as GE MeI Microlab and GE FXc box. His research centers mainly on developing useful 11C labeling agents and new automated radiochemical synthesis devices. For example, he has played a leading role in adapting custom made radiochemistry apparatus (Autorad; Synthia) to an effective National Instrument PXI operating platform.

Dr Shetty is an Analytical Chemist in the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch, National Institute of Mental Health. He obtained his B.Pharm. from Bangalore University (1973) and M.Pharm. from BITS, Pilani, (1976) in India and Ph.D. from University of Saskatchewan, Canada (1983). Dr. Shetty carried out his postdoctoral research at University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. He was a Scientist at Elan Corp., South San Francisco, California and a Senior Staff Fellow at National Institute on Aging, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, before joining NIMH. His research interests are in the areas of drug and PET tracer metabolism, brain phospholipid metabolism and mass spectrometry. His current work includes (i) identification of metabolites of PET radioligands (e.g., dopamine transporter and 5-HT1A and mGluR5 receptors) and pathways for their genesis in brain and periphery (ii) characterization of carrier molecules and (iii) analytical method development.

Dr. Susovan Jana obtained his BSc (Chemistry, 2008) from RKMR College Narendrapur, University of Calcutta and MSc (Chemistry, 2010) from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in India. Following an additional year of fellowship studies at IIT, he moved to Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL) to pursue doctoral studies and graduated with PhD degree in 2018. He designed and developed a new approach to the rapid fluorination of organosilicon compounds for application in PET utilizing bifunctional crown ether nucleophilic catalysts (CENCs). Dr. Jana also designed novel reaction methodologies involving γ-silylallenyl esters and discovered a diversification reaction of γ-silylallenyl esters leading to the selective formation of highly functionalized all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers and dicarbinols as small molecule building blocks for bioactive natural products. In 2016, Dr. Jana was selected for a year-long internship at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, Collegeville, PA) in their Respiratory Medicinal Chemistry Division, where he designed and synthesized analogs to inhibit Keap1-NRF2 protein-protein interaction with excellent potency and selectivity for the amelioration of oxidative stress. He joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section at NIMH in December 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow. His research focused on the design and development of carbon-11 and fluorine-18 candidate PET radiotracers to quantify neuroinflammation via brain imaging and the development of new radiolabeling methods involving [11C] and/or [18F]fluoroform for the labeling of small molecules. After a short stint at the United Therapeutics Corporation, Dr. Jana rejoined NIMH as a Radiochemist for the production and quality control of candidate radiotracers for animal studies and for the clinical trials in June 2022. He also conducts research work to contribute towards the mission at PRSS.

Following an additional year as a research fellow at IITG, he moved to Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL) to pursue doctoral studies and graduated with PhD degree in 2018. During PhD studies, he designed and developed a novel synthetic method to functionalize various alpha-haloglycine esters, as key precursors to a large variety of non-proteinogenic amino acids. He joined Scripps Research Institute in October 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow, where his research focused on several areas: the development and synthesis of Casein Kinase 1 inhibitors for glioblastoma (GBM), the synthesis of Monocarboxylate Transporter (MCT) inhibitors, and the preparation of Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) drug-linkers for antibody-MCT inhibitor conjugates. After a short period at Southern Research as Scientist II and Medicinal chemist, Dr. Samanta joined NIMH as a Radiochemist for producing and quality control radiotracers for clinical studies in August 2024.

Sean Costner received his BS in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2021, majoring in chemistry with a minor in biology. There he was involved in the synthesis and testing of ruthenium complexes as photodynamic therapy candidates. He joined the PET Radiopharmaceuticals Science Section, Molecular Imaging Branch in September 2022 as a Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow. His current research focuses on the synthesis of ligands for the NR2B receptor.

Leah Millard received her BA in Psychology from Gettysburg College in 2023, majoring psychology and with minors in chemistry and neuroscience. She joined the PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Section, Molecular Imaging Branch as a Post-Baccalaureate IRTA Fellow in November of 2023. Her current research focuses on ligands for the NR2B receptor.