Clinical Core

Core Lead: Joel Perlmutter MD

This Clinical Core will implement first in human PET imaging with new radiotracers targeting α-synuclein (α-syn) and 4 repeat tau (4R tau). Radiotracers will be developed preclinically in the Med Chem Core and in Projects 1 and 2 focusing on α-syn and 4R tau, respectively. The Clinical Core will focus α-syn radiotracers on two synucleinopathies, Parkinson disease (PD) and Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), and focus 4R tau radiotracers on two different tauopathies, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and familial frontotemporal dementias (FTD) due to mutation in Microtubule Associated Protein Tau (MAPT) gene. Participants will be drawn from multiple ongoing clinical cohorts of FTD, PSP, PD and MSA.

Clinical Core functions include interaction with the Executive Steering Committee to determine when to start human studies, coordinate required regulatory activities for radiotracer candidates, carry out early safety assessments including whole body dosimetry studies at Penn; coordinate patient selection criteria, centrally collect and serve all imaging and demographic data, coordinate tracer kinetic methods development and validation for human imaging, and coordinate all data to efficiently enable GO-NOGO decisions for candidate radiotracers.