Ponente:Pedro Brugarolas
Título de la charla: Development and evaluation of PET radioligands for potassium channels to image demyelinating diseases
Afiliación :Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Fecha: 14 de julio 2025
Hora: 10:00 h
Lugar: Presencial en salón de actos cubo rojo // online
Abstract:
4-aminopyridine (4AP) is an FDA-approved potassium channel blocker used in the treatment of central and peripheral demyelinating diseases. Radiolabeled analogs of 4AP can be used to detect overexpressed K+ channels in demyelinated axons using positron emission tomography (PET). In this talk, I will review the synthesis of several 18F- and 11C-labeled 4AP derivatives and their evaluation in preclinical models of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury.
I will also discuss the translation of the first PET radioligand for K+ channels to human studies at MGH and the similarities and our initial findings in people with multiple sclerosis.
About the speaker:
Pedro Brugarolas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Brugarolas obtained a B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Alicante in 2005 and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Chicago in 2012. Dr. Brugarolas completed additional postdoctoral training in Neuroscience and Radiochemistry at the University of Chicago (3/2012 – 2/2017) and at the NIH (3-6/2017). Since 2017, Dr. Brugarolas leads a research laboratory at MGH focused on the development and translation of novel PET radioligands for brain imaging.