Nakul Ravi Raval, PhD
he/him/his
DownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Contact/Administration
About
Research
Contact/Administration
About
Research
Contact/Administration
Contact Info
Titles
Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry
Education
PhD
Kobenhavn University, Neuroscience (2022)
Kobenhavn University, Neuroscience (2022)
MSc
Uppsala University, Medical Nuclide Techniques (2019)
Uppsala University, Medical Nuclide Techniques (2019)
Publications Overview
- 22 Publications
- 348 Citations
- 24 Yale Co-Authors
Contact Info
Titles
Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry
Education
PhD
Kobenhavn University, Neuroscience (2022)
Kobenhavn University, Neuroscience (2022)
MSc
Uppsala University, Medical Nuclide Techniques (2019)
Uppsala University, Medical Nuclide Techniques (2019)
Publications Overview
- 22 Publications
- 348 Citations
- 24 Yale Co-Authors
Contact Info
About
Copy Link
Titles
Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry
Biography
Nakul Raval is a neuroscientist specializing in positron emission tomography imaging and radioligand development for brain research. His work bridges radiochemistry and neurobiology to design and evaluate novel tracers for studying brain function. He focuses on substance use disorders, aiming to develop imaging tools to understand the molecular pathways driving these disorders. Using a translational approach, Nakul’s research advances how PET imaging can inform treatment strategies and deepen our understanding of the human brain.
Last Updated on November 12, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Postdoctoral AssociatePrimaryPsychiatry
Associate Research ScientistPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Hillmer Lab
- Janeway Society
- Psychiatry
Education & Training
- PhD
- Kobenhavn University, Neuroscience (2022)
- MSc
- Uppsala University, Medical Nuclide Techniques (2019)
Research
Copy Link
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Mental Disorders; Neuroimaging; Positron-Emission Tomography
ORCID
0000-0001-5637-7219
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Nakul Ravi Raval's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Nakul Ravi Raval's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Nakul Ravi Raval is interested in exploring.
Ansel Hillmer, PhD
Kelly Cosgrove, PhD
Richard Carson, PhD
Gustavo A. Angarita, MD, MHS
Hang Zhou, PhD
Yiyun Huang, PhD
22Publications
348Citations
Positron-Emission Tomography
Publications
Featured Publications
Acute Alcohol‐Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography
Raval N, Smart K, Angarita G, Miller R, Huang Y, Krystal J, Carson R, Cosgrove K, O'Malley S, Hillmer A. Acute Alcohol‐Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography. Addiction Biology 2025, 30: e70031. PMID: 40309934, PMCID: PMC12044519, DOI: 10.1111/adb.70031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsBlood alcohol levelsAlcohol challengeEffects of acute alcohol consumptionPeak blood alcohol levelsLaboratory alcohol challengeNon-displaceable binding potentialMetabotropic glutamate receptor 5Acute alcohol challengeGlutamate releaseAlcohol-induced changesGlutamate receptor 5Alcohol consumptionAcute alcohol consumptionMGluR5 availabilityPET scansSocial drinkersEthanol doseAlcohol effectsBrain regionsAcute alcoholBinding potentialCortical regionsClinically relevant dosesDrinking occasionsAlcohol levelsImaging the brain’s immune response to alcohol with [11C]PBR28 TSPO Positron Emission Tomography
Raval N, Angarita G, Matuskey D, Miller R, Drake L, Kapinos M, Nabulsi N, Huang Y, Carson R, O’Malley S, Cosgrove K, Hillmer A. Imaging the brain’s immune response to alcohol with [11C]PBR28 TSPO Positron Emission Tomography. Molecular Psychiatry 2023, 28: 3384-3390. PMID: 37532797, PMCID: PMC10743097, DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-02198-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsVolume of distributionBlood alcohol levelsPositron emission tomographyBrain immune responseImmune responseAlcohol challengeEmission tomographyPeak blood alcohol levelsMultilinear analysis 1Peripheral immune functionVivo human evidenceLaboratory alcohol challengeTSPO positron emission tomographyBinge levelsPlasma cytokinesImmune dysfunctionNeuroimmune systemIL-6MCP-1Cytokines TNFAcute effectsScan dayArterial bloodHuman evidenceImmune function
2025
Imaging Neuroimmune Dysfunction: From TSPO to Emerging PET Targets
Bonomi R, Raval N, Hillmer A, Cosgrove K. Imaging Neuroimmune Dysfunction: From TSPO to Emerging PET Targets. Biological Psychiatry 2025 PMID: 41297785, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2025.11.010.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPositron emission tomographyPET targetsBrain-resident immune cellsPET imaging biomarkersResident immune cellsDevelopment of novel radiotracersTranslocator proteinPositron emission tomography imagingPsychiatric disordersPsychiatric illnessNeuroimmune systemImmune cellsDiagnostic strategiesNovel radiotracersImaging biomarkersEmission tomographyMicroglial levelsTherapeutic targetIn vivoNeuroimmuneClinical and preclinical evidence of sex differences in nicotine-induced enhancement of alcohol self-administration
Garcia-Rivas V, Zakiniaeiz Y, Jimenez Chavez C, Kohler R, Peltier M, Raval N, Verplaetse T, Zhou H, McKee S. Clinical and preclinical evidence of sex differences in nicotine-induced enhancement of alcohol self-administration. Psychopharmacology 2025, 1-14. PMID: 41240074, DOI: 10.1007/s00213-025-06965-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsNicotine-induced enhancementAlcohol self-administrationSelf-AdministrationSex differencesRates of alcohol use disordersEvidence of sex differencesAlcohol use disorderAlcohol-related behaviorsPreclinical evidencePotential sex differencesNicotine useUse disorderFemale subjectsCo-usePreclinical studiesNicotineTranslation paradigmIntersection of alcoholAlcoholPotential intersectionsClinical studiesTherapeutic strategiesReinforcementInclusion criteriaRationaleAlcoholAlcohol use during pregnancy: the impact of social determinants of health on alcohol consumption among pregnant women
Peltier M, Verplaetse T, Bici V, Mokwuah A, Chavez C, Zakiniaeiz Y, Kohler R, Garcia-Rivas V, Banini B, Zhou H, Raval N, Pittman B, McKee S. Alcohol use during pregnancy: the impact of social determinants of health on alcohol consumption among pregnant women. Biology Of Sex Differences 2025, 16: 49. PMID: 40598644, PMCID: PMC12219128, DOI: 10.1186/s13293-025-00731-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSocial determinants of healthDeterminants of healthImpact of SDoHMonthly binge drinkingMonth alcohol useAlcohol useLikelihood of alcohol useSocial determinantsLikelihood of binge drinkingPregnant womenBinge drinkingImpact of social determinants of healthAlcohol consumptionNational Survey of Drug Use and HealthNational surveyMethodsCross-sectional dataDrug Use and HealthRates of prenatal alcohol exposureHigh school educationCriminal justice involvementPast-month alcohol useHealthcare providersSDOHTime of alcohol consumptionPrenatal alcohol exposure
2024
An In Vivo High-Resolution Human Brain Atlas of Synaptic Density
Johansen A, Beliveau V, Colliander E, Raval N, Dam V, Gillings N, Aznar S, Svarer C, Plavén-Sigray P, Knudsen G. An In Vivo High-Resolution Human Brain Atlas of Synaptic Density. Journal Of Neuroscience 2024, 44: e1750232024. PMID: 38997157, PMCID: PMC11326867, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1750-23.2024.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPathogenesis of brain disordersBrain disordersHuman brainFunctional topographySynaptic densityBrain physiologySynapse densityHigher-order cortical areasSynaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2AHuman brain physiologyHealthy human brainSV2A densityPET neuroimagingComparative neuroscienceNeuroscience researchCortical areasBrainAutoradiography dataDisordersNeuroscienceBrain atlasesHealthy humansSV2APositive associationMRNA patternsDevelopment of Peptide-Based Probes for Molecular Imaging of the Postsynaptic Density in the Brain
Fernandes E, Palner M, Raval N, Jeppesen T, Danková D, Bærentzen S, Werner C, Eilts J, Maric H, Doose S, Aripaka S, Kaalund S, Aznar S, Kjaer A, Schlosser A, Haugaard-Kedström L, Knudsen G, Herth M, Stro̷mgaard K. Development of Peptide-Based Probes for Molecular Imaging of the Postsynaptic Density in the Brain. Journal Of Medicinal Chemistry 2024, 67: 11975-11988. PMID: 38981131, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c00615.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPostsynaptic densityBrain slicesPSD-95Tracer bindingPostsynaptic density protein 95Rat brain slicesMolecular imagingPost-mortem Parkinson's diseaseScaffold proteinQuantitative autoradiographyAbundant proteinsSynaptic transmissionPostsynaptic impairmentHigh-affinity inhibitorsSignaling moleculesImaging studiesFluorescent tagsCell imaging studiesSynaptic density patterns in early Alzheimer’s disease assessed by independent component analysis
Fang X, Raval N, O’Dell R, Naganawa M, Mecca A, Chen M, van Dyck C, Carson R. Synaptic density patterns in early Alzheimer’s disease assessed by independent component analysis. Brain Communications 2024, 6: fcae107. PMID: 38601916, PMCID: PMC11004947, DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae107.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsMedial temporal brain regionsAlzheimer's diseaseTemporal brain regionsCognitive deficitsBrain regionsCognitive impairmentPostmortem studiesBinds to SV2ASynaptic densityReduction of synaptic densityIndependent component analysisSynaptic lossAlzheimerDeficitsImpairmentBrainNeocortexComponent analysisPrimary pathologySV2AEvaluation of F-537-Tetrazine in a model for brain pretargeting imaging. Comparison to N-(3-[18F] fluoro-5-(1,2,4,5-tetrazin-3-yl)benzyl)propan-1-amine
Shalgunov V, van den Broek S, Andersen I, Raval N, Schäfer G, Barz M, Herth M, Battisti U. Evaluation of F-537-Tetrazine in a model for brain pretargeting imaging. Comparison to N-(3-[18F] fluoro-5-(1,2,4,5-tetrazin-3-yl)benzyl)propan-1-amine. Nuclear Medicine And Biology 2024, 128: 108877. PMID: 38232579, DOI: 10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2024.108877.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and ConceptsAn in vivo high-resolution human brain atlas of synaptic density
Johansen A, Beliveau V, Colliander E, Raval N, Dam V, Gillings N, Aznar S, Svarer C, Plaven-Sigray P, Knudsen G. An in vivo high-resolution human brain atlas of synaptic density. Neuroscience Applied 2024, 3: 104022. DOI: 10.1016/j.nsa.2024.104022.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitations
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
Evaluation of (S)-[18F]OF-NB1 as a radioligand for Positron Emission Tomography imaging of GluN2B-NMDA
HIC ID2000038885RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2030Recruiting Participants
News
Copy Link
News
- September 22, 2025
Raval Awarded K99/R00 Grant From NIAAA
- June 25, 2025
SNMMI honors Yale researchers with awards at 2025 annual meeting
- May 07, 2025
Raval Honored with Three Travel Awards
- October 30, 2024
Six Postgraduate, Postdoctoral Associates Honored at Yale Conference for Alcohol Research and Education
Get In Touch
Copy Link
Contacts
Email