Submitted by Virginia Wykes on Wed, 31/05/2023 - 15:45
The research involves the development of positron emission tomography (PET) Imaging Radiopharmaceuticals for Multiple Sclerosis Therapies.
It will form the basis of Helgi Danielsson's PhD, which aims to develop PET radiopharmaceuticals that will enable the correct treatment to be selected for people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) .
Specifically, to enable new types of therapies that can increase the number of brain stem cells and by doing so, repair the myelin coating that protects nerves, which are damaged in MS due to inflammation. Using computational chemistry methods, medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry, and biological assessments, the objective is to develop new chemical imaging probes which are selective towards these stem cells so their distribution and quantities in people can be identified by PET scanning.
Dr Nisha Kuzhuppilly Ramakrishnan’s research project “ Development of PET Imaging Radiopharmaceuticals for Multiple Sclerosis Therapies” will involve evaluating the biological properties of the candidate radiotracers developed as a part of Helgi's project and selecting the best candidates for further evaluation towards clinical translation.