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Woodard Lab

Projects

Receptor-Targeted Nanoparticle PET Tracer in Human Carotid Atherosclerosis

Goal

This project, ongoing since 2005, developed a novel radiotracer targeting the natriuretic peptide receptor-C (NPR-C) for the assessment of atherosclerosis. NPR-C is present in macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) and is responsible for VSMC migration. It is present in atherosclerosis with features of vulnerability. We have translated this PET radiotracer into patients with demonstrated carotid atherosclerosis and are now in the process of pursuing its use across centers (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) and assessing its uptake relative to patient outcomes. In patients who are imaged and undergo carotid endarterectomy surgery, we compare imaging features to plaque pathology, vulnerability and NPRC distribution within macrophage subtypes to facilitate understanding of gene expression using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and single nucleus and single cell transcriptomic.

Pamela K. Woodard, MD
Mohamed A. Zayed, MD, PhD

NIH R01HL132600, NIH R01 HL159803

Development and Translation of Generator-Produced PET Tracer for Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Goal

This project translates Ga-68 Galmydar, a novel radiotracer developed by the Sharma Lab, into patients for the assessment of ischemic cardiovascular disease.

Thomas H. Schindler, MD, PhD
Vijay Sharma, PhD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD

NIH R01HL142297

Assessment of Clonal Hematopoiesis and Its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease in Hodgkin Lymphoma Survivors

Goal

This project plans to assess the prevalence of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) possessing somatic mutations associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD), which are detected after Hodgkin Lymphoma therapy and to assess patients with CH for the presence or absence of objective signs of CVD as measured by cardiac MRI (cMRI). 

Robert Hayashi, MD
Kenneth Walsh, PhD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD

This project partners with the ongoing Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Trial AHOD1331.

PET Myocardial Blood Flow Comparison to Coronary CTA and CT-FFR  

Goal

The broad, long-term objective of this pilot study is to develop an optimal, clinically usable, noninvasive evaluation of CAD in the setting of stable angina, which provides both anatomic and functional information using PET, CCTA and CT-FFR.

This project includes funding from Siemens Medical Systems.

PET Detection of CCR2 in Human Atherosclerosis

Goal

This project assesses the mechanism and imaging of CCR5 in carotid inflammation.

Robert J. Gropler, MD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD
Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD

NIH R01HL150891

Absolute Perfusion Reserve:  Theory and New Metric for Coronary Lesion Grading

Goal

The goal of our research is to develop a novel imaging-based biomarker that more accurately reflects the true physiological significance of coronary artery stenoses by accounting for patient specific properties of both the large epicardial arteries and of the microcirculation using physics and physiology based computational models informed by both anatomic and perfusion data obtained from simultaneously acquired coronary CTA and PET perfusion imaging. 

The physiological significance of a coronary artery stenosis depends not only on the anatomic severity of the stenosis, but also on the geometric configuration and physiological properties of the entire coronary network including the microcirculation. FFR, considered the current gold standard for grading the significance of a stenosis, is an invasive test that only accounts for these properties in a crude way that could potentially underestimate the significance of a stenosis in the presence of microvascular disease. FFR-CT, an imaging-based non-invasive surrogate of FFR, intrinsically assumes a normal microcirculation and therefore cannot account for the effects of microvascular disease on its predictions.

Scott M. Bugenhagen, MD, PhD

Abhinav Jha, PhD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD

  • North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging Pilot Grant
  • Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Seed Grant

Predicting Permanent Pacemaker Implantation After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement From Aortic Annulus Shape Models Derived From Pre-Procedural CT 

Gregory Wehner, MD, PhD

Abhinav Jha, PhD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD
Jie Zheng, PhD

Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque Segmentation in Multi-Weighted MRI Using a Two-Stage Neural Network

Ran Li

Abhinav Jha, PhD
Pamela K. Woodard, MD
Jie Zheng, PhD

This project includes funding from:

  • NIH R01HL132600
  • NIH R01 HL159803
  • NIH R01HL150891

Our People

The lab, led by Pamela K. Woodard, MD, consists of multidisciplinary teams with excellence in radiology, cardiology, radiochemistry, biomedical engineering and vascular biology all working together towards a shared goal.

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