Jason Cai, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging and of Pharmacology
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Research Summary
As neurodegenerative diseases and cancers pose a huge challenge to our society, novel and creative approaches are needed to illuminate their pathogenesis, detect the diseases at early stages to allow for more effective interventions, and monitor therapeutic effects. We are developing novel PET imaging approaches that directly measure biochemical or phenotypic changes in living subjects, through the integration of medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry, quantitatvie PET imaging, and pharmacology.
Extensive Research Description
PET imaging; Brain imaging; Cancer diagnosis and prognosis; Biomarker and drug discovery and development
Coauthors
Research Interests
Alzheimer Disease; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacology; Biomarkers; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Positron-Emission Tomography; Drug Discovery; Drug Development
Public Health Interests
Aging; Biomarkers
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Selected Publications
- Preclinical evaluation of a brain penetrant PARP PET imaging probe in rat glioblastoma and nonhuman primatesChen B, Ojha D, Toyonaga T, Tong J, Pracitto R, Thomas M, Liu M, Kapinos M, Zhang L, Zheng M, Holden D, Fowles K, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, De Feyter H, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. Preclinical evaluation of a brain penetrant PARP PET imaging probe in rat glioblastoma and nonhuman primates. European Journal Of Nuclear Medicine And Molecular Imaging 2023, 50: 2081-2099. PMID: 36849748, DOI: 10.1007/s00259-023-06162-y.
- Decreased synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A binding in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer's disease detected by [18F]SDM-16Zheng C, Toyonaga T, Chen B, Nicholson L, Mennie W, Liu M, Spurrier J, Deluca K, Strittmatter S, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. Decreased synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A binding in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer's disease detected by [18F]SDM-16. Frontiers In Neurology 2023, 14: 1045644. PMCID: PMC9945093, DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1045644.
- Decreased synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A binding in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer's disease detected by [18F]SDM-16Zheng C, Toyonaga T, Chen B, Nicholson L, Mennie W, Liu M, Spurrier J, Deluca K, Strittmatter S, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. Decreased synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A binding in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer's disease detected by [18F]SDM-16. Frontiers In Neurology 2023, 14: 1045644. PMID: 36846134, PMCID: PMC9945093, DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1045644.
- Visualization of synaptic vesicle protein 2A in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer’s disease with a metabolically stable PET probeZheng C, Chen B, Toyonaga T, Liu M, Nicholson L, Deluca K, Strittmatter S, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. Visualization of synaptic vesicle protein 2A in a rodent model of familial Alzheimer’s disease with a metabolically stable PET probe. Alzheimer's & Dementia 2022, 18 DOI: 10.1002/alz.063890.
- Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases as PET imaging targets for central nervous system diseasesTong J, Chen B, Tan P, Kurpiewski S, Cai Z. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases as PET imaging targets for central nervous system diseases. Frontiers In Medicine 2022, 9: 1062432. PMCID: PMC9685622, DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1062432.
- Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases as PET imaging targets for central nervous system diseasesTong J, Chen B, Tan P, Kurpiewski S, Cai Z. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases as PET imaging targets for central nervous system diseases. Frontiers In Medicine 2022, 9: 1062432. PMID: 36438061, PMCID: PMC9685622, DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.1062432.
- P-304 The synthesis and bioevaluation of a novel and brain penetrable PARP1 tracer [18F]Pamiparib in rodents and nonhuman primatesTong J, Chen B, Gu J, Alluri S, Zheng M, Zheng C, Felchner Z, Gao H, Zhang L, Kapinos M, Labaree D, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. P-304 The synthesis and bioevaluation of a novel and brain penetrable PARP1 tracer [18F]Pamiparib in rodents and nonhuman primates. Nuclear Medicine And Biology 2022, 108: s214-s215. DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)00440-1.
- P-303 Synthesis and preclinical evaluation of PD-L1 PET tracer [18F]FDHPA in miceTong J, Chen B, Alluri S, Gu J, Zheng M, Zheng C, Felchner Z, Gao H, Zhang L, Kapinos M, Labaree D, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Marquez-Nostra B, Carson R, Huang Y, Cai Z. P-303 Synthesis and preclinical evaluation of PD-L1 PET tracer [18F]FDHPA in mice. Nuclear Medicine And Biology 2022, 108: s214. DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)00439-5.
- P-278 Development and preliminary evaluation of the fluorine-18 labeled benzamido-dihydroindene derivative [18F]FBAIN as a potential radiotracer for PET imaging of the chemokine receptor CXCR5Lindemann M, Tong J, Chen B, Kranz M, Oteiza A, Martin-Armas M, Sadasivam P, Drake L, Liu M, Spencer E, Huang Y, Cai Z. P-278 Development and preliminary evaluation of the fluorine-18 labeled benzamido-dihydroindene derivative [18F]FBAIN as a potential radiotracer for PET imaging of the chemokine receptor CXCR5. Nuclear Medicine And Biology 2022, 108: s200-s201. DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)00414-0.
- PET Imaging of Synaptic Vesicle Protein 2AFinnema S, Li S, Cai Z, Naganawa M, Chen M, Matuskey D, Nabulsi N, Esterlis I, Holmes S, Radhakrishnan R, Toyonaga T, Huang Y, Carson R. PET Imaging of Synaptic Vesicle Protein 2A. 2020, 993-1019. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53176-8_29.
- Synthesis and Preclinical Evaluation of an 18F‑Labeled Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A PET Imaging Probe: [18F]SynVesT‑2Cai Z, Li S, Zhang W, Pracitto R, Wu X, Baum E, Finnema SJ, Holden D, Toyonaga T, Lin SF, Lindemann M, Shirali A, Labaree DC, Ropchan J, Nabulsi N, Carson RE, Huang Y. Synthesis and Preclinical Evaluation of an 18F‑Labeled Synaptic Vesicle Glycoprotein 2A PET Imaging Probe: [18F]SynVesT‑2. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 2020, 11: 592-603. PMID: 31961649, DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00618.
- PET imaging of synaptic density: A new tool for investigation of neuropsychiatric diseasesCai Z, Li S, Matuskey D, Nabulsi N, Huang Y. PET imaging of synaptic density: A new tool for investigation of neuropsychiatric diseases. Neuroscience Letters 2018, 691: 44-50. PMID: 30075287, PMCID: PMC6339829, DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.07.038.
- PET Imaging for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease From Pathologic to Physiologic BiomarkersBao W, Jia H, Finnema S, Cai Z, Carson RE, Huang YH. PET Imaging for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease From Pathologic to Physiologic Biomarkers. PET Clinics 2017, 12: 329-350. PMID: 28576171, DOI: 10.1016/j.cpet.2017.03.001.