2009 Doc Morris Public Lecture - Molecular imaging of the biology of disease with Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Speaker: Prof. Michael Phelps, University of California, Los Angeles

Topic: "Molecular imaging of the biology of disease with Positron Emission Tomography (PET)"

Time: 7:00 PM, Friday, May 1st, 2009

Place: NE-60 ('North Education' Building)

Printable: Poster (on front) and Map (on back)

Abstract: Molecular imaging has become an important discipline in the basic and clinical sciences, as well as in the practice of medicine, through many imaging technologies. This presentation will focus on the use of PET to translate in vitro laboratory measurements and knowledge of biochemistry, biology and pharmacology into in vivo imaging measurements, from research in rodent models to molecular imaging diagnostics in the care of patients. Examples will be shown in rodent models and patients to illustrate the use of PET to examine:

1. The biology & biochemistry of normal cellular processes and those that differentiate disease in basic science studies and their translation into molecular imaging diagnostics in the care of patients.
2. Biological processes of disease to improve the selection of treatments and to separate drug responders, who should continue their treatment, from non-responders who should be considered for an alternative therapy.
3. Drug targets to stratify subjects into those who have or don't have the drug target.

While improvements in imaging instrumentation continue to occur, the critical issue is the development of new molecular imaging probes for biochemical assays, aligned to the needs of biology and medicine. A new molecular imaging probe discovery process along with integrated microfluidics chip technology to synthesize and screen these probes will be presented.

Biographical Sketch for Michael E. Phelps, Ph.D.: Dr. Phelps is the Norton Simon Professor, Chair, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, Director, Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMED) & the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging at UCLA.

Dr. Phelps earned B.S. degrees in chemistry and mathematics at Western Washington State University, and a Ph.D. in chemistry, at Washington University, St. Louis. Dr. Phelps, along with Dr. Edward Hoffman, is the inventor of the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner and along his colleagues Simon Cherry and Arion Chatziioannou developed a miniaturized pre-clinical PET scanner, microPET.

With his UCLA colleagues and students, Phelps developed numerous in vivo assays for PET that provide measurements biological processes ranging from gene expression & signal transduction to rates of various biochemical reactions. He has employed these assays to study the biology of normal organ systems, cancer, numerous disorders of the brain and heart, and to transition them into molecular imaging diagnostics in patient care and pharmaceutical research.

Dr. Phelps built a new combined basic and clinical science Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology at UCLA, that includes PET and nuclear medicine clinical services, to bring together in vitro & in vivo molecular diagnostics and molecular therapeutics from cells and rodents to the care of patients. He also founded the translational science Institute for Molecular Medicine (IMED) and the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging at UCLA. All these programs exist within an integrated culture of faculty and students from the engineering, mathematical, physical, biological and medical sciences.

Dr. Phelps has published over 720 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 4 textbooks. He has been the principle or co-principle investigator of over $265 million in grants and has received various awards such as the George von Hevesy Prize, chaired the 1983 Nobel Symposium; S. Weir Mitchell Award, Academy of Neurology; Rosenthal Foundation Award, American College of Physicians; the Ernest O. Lawrence Award; the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award presented by President Clinton; Kettering Prize, General Motors Cancer Research Foundation; Gave the Keynote Address, 2007 Nobel Symposium, Stockholm. Dr Phelps is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and also the Institute of Medicine of the Academy. He is the Chairman of the Board, Norton Simon Foundation; Chairman of the Board, Norton Simon Research Foundation; Member of the Board of the Norton Simon Art Foundation.

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