# Permeability Imaging using Simultaneous Dynamic PET and Arterial Spin Labeling MRI

> **NIH NIH K01** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $16,347

## Abstract

Abstract
Candidate's Career Goals: Dr. Han has a strong background in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, image
reconstruction and arterial spin labeling (ASL), with a Ph.D. in bio and brain engineering. Dr. Han is currently at
a junior-faculty rank of instructor at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). His goal is to expand his future
career to multi-modality positron emission tomography (PET)-MR imaging for translational research and clinical
improvement. His long-term goal is to become an independent, accomplished investigator that can lead future
scientific and clinical imaging projects taking full advantage of multi-modality PET-MR imaging.
Career Development Plan: Foundational training in PET/PET-MR imaging as well as neurology is proposed for
the candidate, an area that the candidate currently lacks knowledge and experience in. The candidate plans to
engage in formal course work/seminars, research via one-on-one instructions with mentors and collaborators,
conferences/presentations, manuscript/grant preparations, and teaching/leadership roles to grow as an
independent investigator in the field of PET-MR imaging and neurology.
Research Project: The overall goal of the proposed research is to take advantage of simultaneous dynamic PET
and ASL-MR imaging to estimate the permeability surface product (PS) of the PET tracer, which is new
physiological information that cannot be obtained with PET or MR alone. PS describes the unidirectional flux
rate of macromolecules from the blood plasma into the interstitial space of cellular tissue and is the key metric
for assessing the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Knowing the PS of the PET tracer provides powerful
capability to probe the physiological delivery process of essential macromolecules involved in the pathogenesis
of diseases in relation to BBB, due to the theoretically unlimiting potential in the design of radioactive analogs of
important biological compounds. We plan to develop a PET tracer PS mapping method, achieve the first phantom
and human study with PS mapping, and study the changes in the spatial distribution of tau neurofibrillary tangles
(tau) and amyloid-beta (Aß) plaque depositions in relation to the BBB integrity changes with pathological events
associated with the progression of AD, by performing dynamic-PET/mPLD-ASL studies using 18F-T807 and 11C-
Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) PET tracers on AD and normal subjects.
Environment: MGH provides an ideal setting for conducting research in MR, PET, and PET-MR imaging since
multiple state-of-the-art imaging systems are available for preclinical/clinical MR scanners and preclinical
simultaneous PET-MR scanners. There is a dynamic flow phantom designed to simulate blood flow for two
compartment pharmacokinetics and an MR-compatible pump and detection system for continuous blood
sampling suitable for performing ASL flow and PET imaging studies with arterial sampling. Also, there is a shared
memory supercomputer ideal for the image ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11081255
- **Project number:** 7K01EB030045-05
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Paul Kyu Han
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $16,347
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11081255

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11081255, Permeability Imaging using Simultaneous Dynamic PET and Arterial Spin Labeling MRI (7K01EB030045-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11081255. Licensed CC0.

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