Jan. 26, 2026
Carolyn Anderson, Steve & Karen Ellebracht Professor in Medicinal Chemistry and Professor of Radiology, was recently awarded a grant from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging to study PET imaging in sickle cell disease.
The $110,000 grant, awarded through the SNMMI Mars Shot Research Fund, investigates a new imaging agent labeled with Fluorine-18, which can be produced daily by PharmaLogic, a site partner at the University of Missouri Research Reactor.
In collaboration with Dr. Scott Snyder, the Director of the PET Research Center at University of Pittsburgh Meical Center, the synthesis of the novel 18F-LLP2A compounds will be scaled up and produced on an automated synthesis box for daily, routine production, allowing hospitalized patients to be imaged any day of the week.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder in which a mutation alters the structure of hemoglobin, causing red blood cells to become rigid and block small blood vessels. These blockages, known as vaso‑occlusive crises, lead to severe pain and tissue damage, yet clinicians currently lack tools to visualize or objectively measure these events during a crisis.
Research in small animal models has shown that crises begin when blood cells become overly adhesive — a process called hyper‑adhesion — prompting interest in imaging techniques that can detect this “stickiness.” Studies from Dr. Anderson’s lab, in collaboration with Dr. Enrico Novelli at the University of Pittsburgh, demonstrated that an imaging agent called 64Cu‑LLP2A could detect this adhesion by targeting the VLA‑4 molecule, which appears at elevated levels on immature red blood cells in sickle cell disease.
These findings led to an ongoing clinical trial at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center testing 64Cu‑LLP2A in patients, though progress has been slowed by limited availability of the copper‑64 isotope, which must be shipped long distances and is only accessible on select days.
To overcome this barrier, Drs. Anderson and Snyder are developing a similar imaging agent labeled with fluorine‑18, a radioisotope that can be produced daily.
The study, titled Fluorine-18 LLP2A for PET Imaging of Vaso-Occlusive Crisis in Sickle Cell Disease, was selected to receive the grant from the 2026 Alavi Mars Shot Research Fund.