Meixiang Max Yu

Meixiang Max Yu, PhD

Associate Research Professor of Radiochemistry in Radiology, Academic Institute
Houston Methodist
Weill Cornell Medical College


Cyclotron and Radiopharmaceutical Core


MYu@houstonmethodist.org
Biography

Dr. Yu graduated with a Ph.D. from Peking University in 1996. He completed his postdoctoral training in Nuclear Medicine and Pharmacolgy at Kupio University Hospital in Finland before taking a position as a Research Scientist at the Turku PET Center in Finland. In 2001, he joined the Harvard Medical School Radiology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital as a Research Scientist and Instructor before being appointed Associate Professor and Chief Radiochemist at the University of Tennessee in 2005. He was also the Senior Radiochemist at Banner Alxheimer's Institute in Phoenix, AZ from 2007 to 2009 before joining Houston Methodist in 2009. At the Research Institute, Dr. Yu oversees the design and operation of the cyclotron facility, which produces PET radiopharmaceuticals for clinical use in compliance with FDA cGMP (current good manufacture practice) regulations.

Description of Research

Dr. Yu's research focuses on molecular imaging biomarker development for translational medicine applications. Functional parameters from in vivo imaging include biodistribution, metabolism, receptor and transporter occupancy, as well as blood flow will be important in diseases diagnosis, stages and response evaluation. For these purposes, his team is developing PET and SPECT imaging tracers of pharmacological affects on glutamate receptors, dopamine transporters and receptors, and serotonin transporters and receptors, which are important in neurodegeneration diseases and psychiatry. In addition, as the Ccyclotron Operation/Radiochemistry Director, Dr. Yu supervises the Research Institute cyclotron facility design, including the installation and operation of the cyclotron, hot cells, radiochemistry synthetic modules, quality control instruments, and radiation safety monitoring. He also oversees the development of standard operation procedures for cyclotron operation, PET radiopharmaceutical production, quality control, and radiation safety.

Areas Of Expertise

PET tracer development and production Cyclotron operation Radiochemistry FDA cGMP regulation Radiopharmaceutical production
Education & Training

PhD, Peking University
MS, ChinA Institute of Atomic Energy
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Physiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Finland
Publications

Brain inflammation co-localizes highly with tau in mild cognitive impairment due to early-onset Alzheimer's disease
Appleton, J, Finn, Q, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Yu, M, Faridar, A, Nakawah, MO, Zarate, C, Carrillo, M, Dickerson, BC, Rabinovici, G, Apostolova, LG, Masdeu, JC & Pascual, B 2024, , Brain. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awae234

Neuroinflammation co-localizes highly with tau in amnestic mild cognitive impairment
Appleton, J, Funk, Q, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Faridar, A, Beers, D, Appel, SH, Fujita, M, Masdeu, JC & Pascual, B 2022, , Alzheimers and Dementia, vol. 18, no. S1, e068025. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.068025

The PET tracer [11C]MK-6884 quantifies M4 muscarinic receptor in rhesus monkeys and patients with Alzheimer's disease
Li, W, Wang, Y, Lohith, TG, Zeng, Z, Tong, L, Mazzola, R, Riffel, K, Miller, P, Purcell, M, Holahan, M, Haley, H, Gantert, L, Hesk, D, Ren, S, Morrow, J, Uslaner, J, Struyk, A, Wai, JMC, Rudd, MT, Tellers, DM, McAvoy, T, Bormans, G, Koole, M, Van Laere, K, Serdons, K, De Hoon, J, Declercq, R, De Lepeleire, I, Pascual, MB, Zanotti Fregonara, P, Yu, M, Arbones, V, Masdeu, JC, Cheng, A, Hussain, A, Bueters, T, Anderson, MS, Hostetler, ED & Basile, AS 2022, , Science translational medicine, vol. 14, no. 627, eabg3684, pp. eabg3684. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abg3684

The PET tracer [11C]MK-6884 quantifies M4 muscarinic receptor in rhesus monkeys and patients with Alzheimer's disease
Li, W, Wang, Y, Lohith, TG, Zeng, Z, Tong, L, Mazzola, R, Riffel, K, Miller, P, Purcell, M, Holahan, M, Haley, H, Gantert, L, Hesk, D, Ren, S, Morrow, J, Uslaner, J, Struyk, A, Wai, JMC, Rudd, MT, Tellers, DM, McAvoy, T, Bormans, G, Koole, M, Van Laere, K, Serdons, K, De Hoon, J, Declercq, R, De Lepeleire, I, Pascual, MB, Zanotti Fregonara, P, Yu, M, Arbones, V, Masdeu, JC, Cheng, A, Hussain, A, Bueters, T, Anderson, MS, Hostetler, ED & Basile, AS 2022, , Science translational medicine, vol. 14, no. 627, eabg3684. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abg3684

The PET tracer [11C]MK-6884 quantifies M4 muscarinic receptor in rhesus monkeys and patients with Alzheimer's disease
Li, W, Wang, Y, Lohith, TG, Zeng, Z, Tong, L, Mazzola, R, Riffel, K, Miller, P, Purcell, M, Holahan, M, Haley, H, Gantert, L, Hesk, D, Ren, S, Morrow, J, Uslaner, J, Struyk, A, Wai, JMC, Rudd, MT, Tellers, DM, McAvoy, T, Bormans, G, Koole, M, Van Laere, K, Serdons, K, De Hoon, J, Declercq, R, De Lepeleire, I, Pascual, MB, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Yu, M, Arbones, V, Masdeu, JC, Cheng, A, Hussain, A, Bueters, T, Anderson, MS, Hostetler, ED & Basile, AS 2022, , Science translational medicine, vol. 14, no. 627, eabg3684, pp. eabg3684. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abg3684

Imaging transcriptomics: Convergent cellular, transcriptomic, and molecular neuroimaging signatures in the healthy adult human brain
PET Templates Working Group 2021, , Cell Reports, vol. 37, no. 13, 110173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110173

Microglia Activation in Basal Ganglia Is a Late Event in Huntington Disease Pathophysiology
Rocha, NP, Charron, O, Latham, LB, Colpo, GD, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Yu, M, Freeman, L, Stimming, EF & Teixeira, AL 2021, , Neurology: Neuroimmunology and NeuroInflammation, vol. 8, no. 3, e982. https://doi.org/10.1212/NXI.0000000000000984

Neuroinflammation is highest in areas of disease progression in semantic dementia
Pascual, B, Funk, Q, Zanotti Fregonara, P, Cykowski, MD, Veronese, M, Rockers, E, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Nakawah, MO, Román, GC, Schulz, PE, Arumanayagam, AS, Beers, D, Faridar, A, Fujita, M, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2021, , Brain, vol. 144, no. 5, pp. 1565-1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab057

Neuroinflammation is highest in areas of disease progression in semantic dementia
Pascual, B, Funk, Q, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Cykowski, MD, Veronese, M, Rockers, E, Bradbury, K, Yu, M, Nakawah, MO, Román, GC, Schulz, PE, Arumanayagam, AS, Beers, D, Faridar, A, Fujita, M, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2021, , Brain, vol. 144, no. 5, pp. 1565-1575. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awab057

Parametric Mapping for TSPO PET Imaging with Spectral Analysis Impulsive Response Function
Veronese, M, Tuosto, M, Marques, TR, Howes, O, Pascual, B, Yu, M, Masdeu, JC, Turkheimer, F, Bertoldo, A & Zanotti-Fregonara, P 2021, , Molecular Imaging and Biology, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 560-571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11307-020-01575-9

Multimodal 18F-AV-1451 and MRI findings in nonfluent variant of primary progressive aphasia: Possible insights on nodal propagation of tau protein across the syntactic network
Pascual, B, Funk, Q, Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Pal, N, Rockers, E, Yu, MM, Spann, B, Román, GC, Schulz, PE, Karmonik, C, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2020, , Journal of Nuclear Medicine, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 263-269. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.118.225508

Head-to-head comparison of 11C-PBR28 and 11C-ER176 for quantification of the translocator protein in the human brain
Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Pascual, B, Veronese, M, Yu, M, Beers, D, Appel, SH & Masdeu, JC 2019, , European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, vol. 46, no. 9, pp. 1822-1829. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-019-04349-w

A novel approach to medical radioisotope production using inverse kinematics: A successful production test of the theranostic radionuclide 67 Cu
Souliotis, GA, Rodrigues, MRD, Wang, K, Iacob, VE, Nica, N, Roeder, B, Tabacaru, G, Yu, M, Zanotti-Fregonara, P & Bonasera, A 2019, , Applied Radiation and Isotopes, vol. 149, pp. 89-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2019.04.019

Head-to-head comparison of 11C-PBR28 and 18F-GE180 for quantification of the translocator protein in the human brain
Zanotti-Fregonara, P, Pascual, B, Rizzo, G, Yu, M, Pal, N, Beers, D, Carter, R, Appel, SH, Atassi, N & Masdeu, JC 2018, , Journal of Nuclear Medicine, vol. 59, no. 8, pp. 1260-1266. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.117.203109

Cu2+-labeled dansyl compounds as fluorescent and PET probes for imaging apoptosis
Han, J, Wang, X & Yu, MX 2016, , Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, vol. 26, no. 22, pp. 5594-5596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmcl.2016.09.057

Blood pressure is associated with higher brain amyloid burden and lower glucose metabolism in healthy late middle-age persons
Langbaum, JBS, Chen, K, Launer, LJ, Fleisher, AS, Lee, W, Liu, X, Protas, HD, Reeder, SA, Bandy, D, Yu, M, Caselli, RJ & Reiman, EM 2012, , Neurobiology of Aging, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 827.e11-827.e19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.06.020

Fibrillar amyloid-ß burden in cognitively normal people at 3 levels of genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease
Reiman, EM, Chen, K, Liu, X, Bandy, D, Yu, M, Lee, W, Ayutyanont, N, Keppler, J, Reeder, SA, Langbaum, JBS, Alexander, GE, Klunk, WE, Mathis, CA, Price, JC, Aizensteini, HJ, DeKosky, ST & Caselli, RJ 2009, , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 106, no. 16, pp. 6820-6825. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900345106

Using the artificial neural network to discriminate between normal controls with different APOE e4 genotypes and probable AD cases in PIB-PET studies
Ayutyanont, N, Chen, K, Villemagne, V, OKeefe, G, Liu, X, Reschke, C, Lee, W, Venditti, J, Bandy, D, Yu, M, Reeder, S, Rowe, C & Reiman, EM 2009, . in 2009 ICME International Conference on Complex Medical Engineering, CME 2009., 4906617, 2009 ICME International Conference on Complex Medical Engineering, CME 2009, 2009 ICME International Conference on Complex Medical Engineering, CME 2009, Tempe, AZ, United States, 4/9/09. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCME.2009.4906617

Facile synthesis of N-succinimidyl 4-[18F]fluorobenzoate ([ 18F]SFB) for protein labeling
Tang, G, Zeng, W, Yu, M & Kabalka, G 2008, , Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. 68-71. https://doi.org/10.1002/jlcr.1481

Evaluation of four pyridine analogs to characterize 6-OHDA-induced modulation of mGluR5 function in rat brain using microPET studies
Zhu, A, Wang, X, Yu, M, Wang, JQ & Brownell, AL 2007, , Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, vol. 27, no. 9, pp. 1623-1631. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jcbfm.9600461

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