Martin G. Pomper

Department Affiliation: Primary:  Radiology;
Secondary: Oncology; Radiation Oncology; Environmental Health Sciences; Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Degree: M.D., Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rank: Professor
Telephone Number: 410-955-2789
Fax Number: 443-817-0990
E-mail address: mpomper@jhmi.edu
School of Medicine Address: Cancer Research Bldg. 2, Room 492, 1550 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231 

In Vivo Molecular and Cellular Imaging; Radiopharmaceutical Development; Targeted Cancer Imaging and Therapy; Functional Brain Imaging

Recent advances in molecular and cellular biology, the emergence of more sophisticated animal models of human disease and the development of sensitive, high-resolution imaging systems enable the study of pathophysiology noninvasively in unprecedented detail.  The overall goal of our work is to develop new techniques and agents to study human disease through imaging.  We concentrate on two areas, i.e., cancer and central nervous system processes.  Our work extends from basic chemical and radiochemical synthesis to clinical translation.

Current synthetically oriented projects include the development of radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).  Such agents typically bind receptors or enzymes.  We are studying a series of urea derivatives that have a high affinity for glutamate carboxypeptidase II, also known as the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), as leads for imaging agents for prostate cancer and psychiatric disease.  Two of our agents are en route to clinical trials.  Other receptor systems that we intend to exploit include the alpha-7 nicotinic cholinergic receptor, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, the multidrug resistance pump and CXCR4.  We have also developed new methods to image infection and to image and treat virus-associated tumors.  We have recently embarked on a program to develop radioimmunodiagnostic and therapeutic agents for pancreatic cancer.  We have an array of small animal imaging devices for PET, SPECT and optical imaging in which to test these new agents.

In collaboration with the division of magnetic resonance (MR) research, we are studying new brain imaging methods, including diffusion tensor imaging, sodium imaging, and amide proton transfer imaging to define better the clinical potential for these techniques.  Human PET studies are also a translational priority, and we have several protocols for studying neurotransmission and inflammation in individuals with AIDS dementia. 

Representative Publications:  

• Fu D, Tanhehco Y, Chen J, Foss CA, Fox JJ, Chong J-M, Fukayama M, Sgouros G, Kowalski J, Pomper MG, Ambinder RF.  Bortezomib-induced enzyme-targeted radiotherapy in herpesvirus-associated tumors.  Nat Med 2008; in press.  

• Banerjee SR, Foss CA, Castanares M, Mease RC, Byun Y, Fox JJ, Hilton J, Lupold S, Kozikowski AP, Pomper MG.  Synthesis and evaluation of technetium-99m- and rhenium-labeled inhibitors of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).  J Med Chem 2008; in press. 

• Guilarte T, Hammoud DA, McGlothan JL, Caffo BS, Foss CA, Kozikowski AP, Pomper MG.  Dysregulation of glutamate carboxypeptidase II in psychiatric disease.  Schizophr Res 2008; 99:324-332.  Pub Med Reference

• Mease RC, Dusich CL, Foss CA, Ravert HT, Dannals RF, Seidel J, Prideaux A, Fox JJ, Sgouros G, Kozikowski AP, Pomper MG.  Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of N-[N-[(S)-1,3-dicarboxypropyl]carbamoyl]-4-[18F]fluorobenzyl-L-cysteine, [18F]DCFBC:  a new imaging probe for prostate cancer.  Clin Cancer Res 2007; 14:3036-3043.  Pub Med Reference

• Diaz LA, Foss CA, Thornton K, Nimmagadda S, Endres CJ, Uzuner O, Seyler TM, Ulrich SD, Conway J, Bettegowda C, Agrawal N, Cheong I, Zhang X, Ladenson PW, Vogelstein BN, Mont MA, Zhou S, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Pomper MG.  Imaging of musculoskeletal bacterial infections by [124I]FIAU-PET/CT.  PLoS One 2007; 2:e1007.  Pub Med Reference

• Zhang Y, Bressler JP, Neal J, Laterra J, Pomper MG.  ABCG2/BCRP Expression Modulates D-Luciferin-based Bioluminescence Imaging.  Cancer Res 2007; 67:9389-97.  Pub Med Reference

• Zhou, J., Neale, J.H., Pomper, M.G., and Kozikowski, A.P.  NAAG peptidase inhibitors and their potential for diagnosis and therapy, Nat. Rev. Drug Discovery 4:1015-26, 2005. Pub Med Reference
  
  
• Bettegowda, C., Foss, C.A., Wang, Y., Fox, J., Zhou, S., Kinzler, K., Vogelstein, B., and Pomper, M.G.  Imaging bacterial infection in live animals with radiolabeled FIAU, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102:1145-51150, 2005.  Pub Med Reference
  

• Pomper, M.G., Phillips, E., Fan, H., McCarthy, D.J., Keith, R.A., Gordon, J.C., Dannals, R.F., and Musachio, J.L.  Synthesis and biodistribution of radiolabeled a7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ligands, J. Nucl. Med. 46:326-334, 2005.  Pub Med Reference
• Hammoud, D.A., Endres, C.A., Chander, A.R., Guilarte, T.R., Wong, D.F., Sacktor, N.C., McArthur. J.C., and Pomper, M.G.  Imaging glial cell activation with [¹¹C]-R-PK11195 in patients with AIDS, J. Neurovirol. 11:346-355, 2005.  Pub Med Reference