Medical Information Sciences Vortragsreihe (2 CME Punkte) PD Dr. Isabelle Miederer  

Referent: PD Dr. Isabelle Miederer  
Senior Research Scientist at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Topic: “Quantitative Imaging in Neuroreceptor Positron Emission Tomography”
 
Date: June 11th 2024 (starting 5:30 pm)
Place: Kleiner Hörsaal (University Hospital, second floor, Room 048)
 
The lecture will be live-streamed to lecture hall N2045 (FAI).

How can positron emission tomography and modelling techniques be used to quantify
receptor availability in the brain? Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging
technique that can be used to visualise metabolic processes. Small amounts of a
radioactively labelled molecule that is involved in a metabolic pathway of interest are
administered into the body. Radioligands that bind specifically to neuroreceptors are
used for neurological or psychiatric issues. Compartment models can be used to obtain
quantitative physiological parameters. Usually, a complex imaging protocol is required,
which, in addition to the collection of tissue data by PET, also requires arterial blood
data as input function for kinetic models. Using the endocannabinoid system as an
example, it is shown how PET and modelling methods can be used to address
translational and hypothesis-driven questions.

The imaging of neuroreceptor systems, in particular the endocannabinoid system, is the research focus
of Dr Isabelle Miederer. She has made an important contribution to PET methods for quantifying receptor
availability and glucose metabolism in the brain in both preclinical and clinical research. In the field of
data processing, she mainly applies the methods of tracer kinetic modelling. In a translational project
funded by the German Research Foundation, she is currently investigating the role of the
endocannabinoid system in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Dr Isabelle Miederer studied Biomedical Engineering at Furtwangen University and received her
doctorate from the Faculty of Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich. She habilitated
in Experimental Nuclear Medicine at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz on the subject of ‘Methods
for PET imaging of the endocannabinoid system in preclinical research’.
 
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