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INFORMATION FOR

Nabeel Nabulsi, PhD

Senior Research Scientist in Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
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Additional Titles

Associate Director of PET Center, Yale PET Center

Deputy Director of PET Center Chemistry Section

Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Control, Yale PET Center

About

Titles

Senior Research Scientist in Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

Associate Director of PET Center, Yale PET Center; Deputy Director of PET Center Chemistry Section; Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Control, Yale PET Center

Biography

Nabeel Nabulsi obtained his BA degree from UTA in 1980 in Chemistry (pre-Medicine), MS degree from TTU in Organic Chemistry in 1984, and PhD from LSU in Organic/Bioorganic Chemistry in 1991. Afterwards, Dr Nabulsi spent several years back in his ancestry homeland Jordan, during which time worked as director of Organic Chemistry labs in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Jordan for Women, and subsequently as senior scientist at Hikma pharmaceuticals raw chemicals division, all the while engaging in comparative theological research and free-lance writing.

After returning to the States, Dr Nabulsi spent 2 years as a research fellow chemist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Infectious Diseases Infection Control and Employee Health, where he worked in Dr I Raad's lab on developing methods for coating/impregnating indwelling medical devices with antiseptics to prevent nosocomial infections. Subsequently, Dr Nabulsi was awarded a 3-year training fellowship in PET radiochemistry in Dr M Kilbourn's Lab at the University of Michigan. Dr Nabulsi was recruited by Dr Y-S Ding to join the Yale PET Center in 2006.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
University of Michigan Medical School (2006)
Fellowship
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (2001)
PhD
Louisiana State University, Chemsitry/Organic/Bioorganic (1991)
MS
Texas Tech University, Chemistry/Organic (1984)
BA
University of Texas at Arlington, Chemistry/Pre-Medicine (1980)

Research

Overview

As a radiochemist, I find rewarding the development of facile
synthetic methodologies for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals
which incorporate the short half-life C-11 and F-18 radionuclides that
are frequently employed for PET imaging. In particular, synthesis of
C-11 radiopharmaceuticals is very challenging in that it generally has
to be accomplished inside 60 minutes in order to possess adequate
radioactivity for PET imaging.
Improving overall binding properties of existing radioligands and the
development of new ligands comprise my imaging interest in the areas of
CNS and oncology. For CNS, I am interested in developing
radiopharmaceuticals that can be employed for early diagnosis of
Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases and which can lead to development of
better treatments. Another interesting area, FAAH (fatty acid amide
hydrolase) has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for a range of
clinical disorders. It is a membrane-bound intracellular serine
hydrolase that is responsible for AEA (Anandamide, an endogenous
cannabinoid) metabolism. Indeed, FAAH has been targeted as biomarker of
AEA which is known to modulate several physiological processes in both
peripheral and nervous system. FAAH inactivation produces proactive
subset of behavioral effects similar to that observed for direct CB1
agonists, but without inducing analogous side-effects. To date, all
evidence suggests that compounds which increase the tone of AEA, whether
blocking its transport or inhibiting its metabolism, are
therapeutically valuable for treatment. Accordingly imaging FAAH should
accelerate validation of FAAH inhibitors as therapeutic targets.
Small-molecule radiotracers not only would provide valuable research
tools for further understanding of this and other therapeutic targets,
but also allows fast validation of efficacy and selectivity of potential
drug inhibitors as well. The potential disorders which can benefit from
targeted enhancement of AEA include analgesic, anti tumor and neuroprotection.
Regarding oncology, there is a dire need for radiotracers which are
capable of early detection of pancreatic cancer. It is the second most
common gastrointestinal malignancy in the USA. Meanwhile, peptide
transporters are important drug delivery targets and growing number of
studies have been reported on regulation of their transport capacity.
Tumor cells have been shown to up-regulate the expression of the peptide
transporter type PepT1, and high levels of this transporter have been
found in variety of cancer cells, including pancreatic. Thus, increased
expression of PepT1 in the cellular membrane of cancer cells has been
investigated as a possible target for delivery of peptidomimetic
anti-cancer drugs as well as prodrugs. Bestatin, a leukotriene A4
hydrolase inhibitor, is among the peptidomimetic PepT1 substrates which
have been shown to have anticancer activity towards non-lymphocytic
leukemia as well as pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In this regard, I am
interested in developing radiotracers that are substrates of the peptide
transporter PepT1 for imaging pancreatic cancer. Alternatively,
inhibition of PepT1 activity has also been suggested as a novel
chemotherapy approach. With this in mind, radiotracers that are
substrates for PepT1 should also facilitate the development of PepT1
inhibitors.

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Nabeel Nabulsi's published research.

Publications

2024

See All Publications

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

See All Current Clinical Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging

    Professional OrganizationsMember
  • activity

    Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences

    Professional OrganizationsMember
  • activity

    Laboratory Safety Committee

    Advisory BoardsMember
  • activity

    Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Compliance with Regulatory Requirements Regarding Production of Radiopharmaceuticals for Clinical Applications

    Oral PresentationDepartment of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University
  • activity

    Production of Clinically Useful Quantities of the mGluR5 Radiopharmaceutical [18F]FPEB

    DemonstrationSemel Institute PET Center, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center
See All Achievements

Get In Touch

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