# THE PET RADIOTRACER TRANSLATION AND RESOURCE CENTER (PET-RTRC)

> **NIH NIH P41** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $1,243,709

## Abstract

Overall Summary
The impetus for this proposal is the increasing need for sophisticated human molecular imaging tools to advance
human health. Drivers that are creating this unmet need are the evolution in the pathogenesis of various human
diseases (e.g., atherosclerosis, various cancers and Alzheimer's Disease) that limit the applicability of pre-clinical
disease models, the desire for noninvasive readouts in humans to facilitate drug discovery and development and
for the successful implementation of the ongoing efforts to make precision medicine a reality. Although PET
radiotracers are particularly attractive in this regard, there are several obstacles to the successful translation of
new PET radiotracers from the bench to the clinic. Examples range from the low level of commercial investment
to major development bottle-necks including the need for simplified synthetic schemes to facilitate dissemination,
limited availability at a single-site of diverse pre-clinical models of disease necessary for radiotracer evaluation,
the capability to perform first-in-man evaluation of new radiotracers is limited to a few centers nationwide and
the lack of available training opportunities at emerging imaging programs, particularly those with less expertise
in synthetic and radiochemistry.
We are proposing establishing the PET Radiotracer Translation and Resource Center (PET-RTRC) by
leveraging the expertise at Washington University (WU) and the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) in PET
radiotracer design, development, training and use with that of research groups throughout the country who are
studying molecular and cellular processes of interest to facilitate the development and dissemination of novel
PET radiotracers. Our vision is to expand the PET radiotracer program here at WU and MIR to a national scale.
To realize this vision we will address the following Specific Aims:
Aim 1: The Technological Research & Development (TR&D) Projects will develop a portfolio of PET radiotracers
for human imaging to detect important molecular and cellular events that modulate the ubiquitous disease
processes of inflammation (sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 and various chemokines) and oxidative stress
(inducible form of nitric oxide synthase and total reactive oxygen/nitrogen species).
Aim 2: Create a distributed model for pre-clinical evaluation to both shorten the radiotracer development timeline
and importantly expand the translational potential of novel PET radiotracers to enhance research nationwide by
engaging Collaborative Projects (CPs) from both within and outside WU to evaluate radiotracers developed by
TR&Ds. Numerous strategies to optimize the “push-pull” interaction between the Center and CPs are proposed.
Aim 3: Facilitate first-in-man studies by providing the infrastructure (e.g., GMP capabilities) and expertise (e.g,
toxicity and dosimetry evaluation; Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control procedures; and eIND submission and
maintenance) necessary...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9961579
- **Project number:** 5P41EB025815-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert J. Gropler
- **Activity code:** P41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,243,709
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9961579

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9961579, THE PET RADIOTRACER TRANSLATION AND RESOURCE CENTER (PET-RTRC) (5P41EB025815-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9961579. Licensed CC0.

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