Bio
My vision is to accelerate clinical translation of radiopharmaceuticals by deploying a) PET and radio-theranostic target discovery, b) artistry of late-stage radiochemistry methods, and c) lead optimization (candidate selection, preclinical validation). I combine artificial intelligence (LLM, open-source), spatial biology, and chemistry to image innate and adaptive immune cells in the brain in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. Previously, my research in the chemistry-nanoscience-glycobiology interface produced several impactful peer-reviewed publications: 1) a nanosensor that diagnoses life-threatening contaminants in pharmaceutical-grade heparin, an anticoagulant used extensively during surgery, 2) heparan sulfate code readers. Currently, I design and synthesize new PET tracers that facilitate quantification of maladaptive immune cells in various disease models (AD, GBM, GvHD). I am also involved in the clinical translation process of the PET tracers. In the future, I will leverage my experience to triage 'lead diagnostic and theranostic drug' discovery—which can accelerate clinical research and translation.
Specialties: Organic synthesis, Radiochemistry (18F, 11C, 89Zr, 64Cu), material chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, biochemistry, imaging, neuroimmunology, oncology
Current Role at Stanford
Senior Research Scientist: a) cold chemical synthesis— Synthesis of the 12C and 19F- HPLC standards and precursors for 11C- and 18F- labeling
b) Radiosynthesis— Introduction of 11C or 18F radioisotopes into small molecules to develop novel PET tracers, that can track activated myeloid cells in neurodegenerative disease, c) radiometal labeling— 64Cu and 89Zr labeling of monoclonal antibodies that target immune receptors, d) clinical translation— To follow FDA guidelines for translating preclinically validated tracers into humans in the cyclotron and radiochemistry facility (CRF) of the Stanford University
