Pomper, Martin G.

Department Affiliation: Primary:  Radiology;
Secondary: Division of Oncology, Internal Medicine
Degree: M.D., Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Rank: Associate Professor
Telephone Number: 410-955-2789
Fax Number: 410-614-1213
E-mail address: mpomper@jhmi.edu
School of Medicine Address: Cancer Research Bldg. 2, Room 492, 1650 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.  Accordingly, we are studying a series of urea derivatives that have a high affinity for glutamate carboxypeptidase II, an enzyme with high sequence homology to the prostate-specific membrane antigen, as leads for imaging agents for prostate cancer.  Other receptor systems that we intend to exploit include the a-7 nicotinic cholinergic receptor, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, the multidrug resistance pump and the overexpression of sialic acids on the surface of tumors.  We have also incorporated gene reporter constructs that have been adapted for imaging in vivo into tumor and other cells for tumor imaging and cellular trafficking.  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:  

• Zhou, J., Neale, J.H., Pomper, M.G., and Kozikowski, A.P.  NAAG peptidase inhibitors and their potential for diagnosis and therapy, Nat. Drug Discovery, 2005, in press.
  
   
• Pomper, M.G. and Lee, J.S.  Small animal imaging in drug development, Current Pharmaceutical Design 3247-2372, 2005.  Pub Med Reference Not Available.
  
  
• Mathews, W.B., Foss, C.A., Stoermer, D., Ravert, H.T., Dannals, R.F., Henke, B.R., and Pomper, M.G.  Synthesis and biodistribution of [¹¹C]GW7845, a positron-emitting agonist for PPAR?, J. Nucl. Med., 46:1719-1726, 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 ?7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ligands, J. Nucl. Med. 46:326-334, 2005.  Pub Med Reference
  
  
• Foss, C.A., Mease, R.C., Fan, H., Wang, Y., Ravert, H.T., Dannals, R.F., Olszewski, R.T., Heston, W.D., Kozikowski, A.P., and Pomper, M.G.  Radiolabeled small molecule ligands for prostate-specific membrane antigen:  In vivo imaging in experimental models of prostate cancer,  Clin. Cancer Res. 11:4022-4028, 2005.  Pub Med Reference
  
  
• Guilarte, T.R., McGlothan, J.L., Foss, C.A., Zhou, Z., Heston, W.D., Kozikowski, A.P., Pomper, M.G.  Glutamate carboxypeptidase II levels in rodent brain using [¹²⁵I]DCIT quantitative autoradiography, Neurosci. Lett. 387:141-144, 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
  
  
• Mori, S., Frederiksen, K., Stieltjes, B., Kraut, M.A., van Zijl, P.C.M., Brem, H., and Pomper, M.G.  Abnormally increased water diffusion anisotropy at the brain tumor-parenchyma interface, Ann. Neurol. 51:377-380, 2002.  Pub Med Reference
  
  
• Pomper, M.G.  Functional and metabolic imaging.  In: DeVita, V., Hellman, S., Rosenberg, S.A., Editors.  Cancer: principles and practice of oncology,  Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkin; p. 679--689, 2000.