June 2026 – Dr. Lorenzo Nardo Receives the Drs. Jane and Abass Alavi Mars Shot Research Award at SNMMI 2026

The EXPLORER Molecular Imaging Center is delighted to congratulate Dr. Lorenzo Nardo, Professor of Radiology at UC Davis Health, on receiving the Drs. Jane and Abass Alavi Mars Shot Research Award at the 2026 SNMMI Annual Meeting. The proposal, Zirconium-89 Certolizumab PET Imaging in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis, was selected to receive a grant of up to $110,000 from the SNMMI Mars Shot Research Fund, which is focused on advancing molecular imaging research in multiple domains including infection and inflammation.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the joints, causing painful inflammation and, over time, irreversible joint damage. Many patients are treated with TNF- blocking medications, which work by neutralizing a key inflammatory protein that drives joint destruction. Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia®) is one such drug, and its unique molecular struture makes it well-suited to be tagged with a radioactive label for PET imaging without changing how it behaves in the body.

The ⁸⁹Zr-labeled certolizumab tracer was originally developed by Dr. Henry VanBrocklin, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and Director of Radiopharmaceutical Research at UCSF, whose lab has pioneered the labeling of antibody-based drugs with zirconium-89 for immunoPET imaging across several disease areas including rheumatoid arthritis. This study brings the tracer to UC Davis in a collaborative effort co-led by Dr. Barton Wise, Professor of Rheumatology and Orthopedic Surgery, whose clinical expertise in arthritis will be integral to patient selection and outcome assessment.

By using the drug itself as a PET tracer, doctors can see exactly where it travels and accumulates in inflamed joints, potentially predicting whether a patient is likely to respond to treatment before committing to a prolonged course of therapy. This kind of precision could spare patients from ineffective treatments and guide more informed clinical decisions.

Congratulations, Lorenzo and team, on this well-deserved recognition!