“PET imaging of adeno-associated virus (AAV) and application”

Hosted by the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR)

Background: My research has focused on organic, medicinal chemistry and radiolabeling of small molecules and nanoparticles to evaluate the PK of those molecules. I received a B.S. (2001), M.S. (2003), and Ph.D. degrees (2007) in Chemistry from Inha University in Korea. During my B.S. studies, I focused on the preparation of ionic liquids; during my MS degree I focused on the synthesis of nitric oxide suppressors. During my Ph.D. degree, I studied estrogen receptor imaging for breast cancer detection with F-18 labeled cyclofenil derivatives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a visiting graduate student (2003-2004). After returning to Inha University, I developed facile F-18 labeling methods for small molecule labeling (2004-2007). My research after my Ph.D. studies has focused on establishing methods for radiolabeling nanoparticles and macromolecules, evaluating the pharmacological properties of those molecules, and visualizing cancer and atherosclerotic plaques in a rodent model using PET/MR or PET/CT. I joined Professor Katherine Ferrara’s laboratory at the University of California, Davis (2007) and expanded my research career in the radiolabeling of macromolecules and nanoparticles with Cu-64, F-18, and Zr-89 for tracking dendrimers, solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, and micelles. From 2015-2016, I was a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences, Seoul, Korea where I led the development of a GMP radiochemistry facility. Currently I am a Research Associate at Stanford University in the Department of Radiology. I have successfully collaborated on many projects including atherosclerotic plaque identification in mice with Professor Erkki Ruoslahti at UC Santa Barbara, a PET study of novel 20-nm micelles with Professor Ting Xu at UC Berkeley, and evaluation of the pharmacokinetics of radiolabeled-miRNA and dendrimers in an atherosclerosis mouse model with Professor Hanjoong Jo at Emory University. I also joined a collaborative research project with Dr. John R Forsayeth at UCSF, investigating glioblastoma in the rat brain with PET. During my 8 years of experience with Dr. Ferrara’s group, I have mentored many visiting scholars, postdocs and graduate students in the biomedical engineering department. The four papers below provide an overview of projects in which I have led the imaging design or applied probes to evaluate important aspects of drug and gene delivery.

For inquiries contact Margaret Morton.