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Transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illness through research DIVISION OF INTRAMURAL RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Principal Investigators Robert B. Innis, M.D., Ph.D.   Dr. Innis received his B.S. degree from Yale University in 1974 and an M.D. from Johns Hopkins in 1978. He obtained a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from Johns Hopkins in 1981 under the mentorship of Solomon Snyder. After completing a residency in psychiatry at Yale University in 1984, he joined their faculty in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology. Dr. Innis left Yale in 2001 to become Chief of the Molecular Imaging Branch at NIMH. His primary area of interest is brain imaging using PET (positron emission tomography). Research Interests As Chief of the Molecular Imaging Branch (MIB), Dr. Innis employs several neuroimaging techniques to explore molecular and chemical mechanisms associated with neural function in health and disease. The primary methodologies used by this Branch are PET (positron emission tomography) and MRS (magnetic resonance spectroscopy). New PET radiotracers are synthesized for use as in vivo ligands to measure many different molecular targets, including membrane-bound receptors (e.g. cannabinoid CB1 and mGluR5 receptors), proteins associated with intracellular signal transduction (e.g., cAMP phosphodiesterase), markers of neuroinflammation, and ones that reflect gene expression. This Branch has three sections and one unit: 1) Section on PET Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (Chief, Victor Pike, PhD), 2) Section on PET Neuroimaging Sciences (Chief, Robert Innis, MD, PhD), and 3) Section on Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (Chief, Jun Shen, PhD). Multimodal imaging studies are encouraged - e.g., combining MRS measurements of glutamate turnover with PET measurements of dopaminergic neurotransmission. The Molecular Imaging Branch has a strong methodological orientation, with state-of-the-art facilities to develop, evaluate and then apply new radiotracers for in vivo imaging. New radiotracers are synthesized and then rigorously evaluated in animals (rodents and primates) to assess their utility to localize, quantify and measure the functional status of their targets. Promising candidate radiotracers are extended to human subjects, first in healthy subjects and then in relevant patient populations. See the following web site for the most up-to-date information on Dr. Innis’s laboratory, including recent findings, representative publications in pdf format and current studies. http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/mib/neuro.htm Representative Selected Recent Publications: P. Zanotti Fregonara, S.S. Zoghbi, J.-S. Liow, E. Luong, R. Boellaard, R.L. Gladding, V.W. Pike, R.B. Innis, and M. Fujita. Kinetic analysis in human brain of [11C](R)-rolipram, a positron emission tomographic radioligand to image phosphodiesterase 4: a retest study and use of an image-derived input function. NeuroImage, 283: 1903-1909, 2011. PDF G.E. Terry, J. Hirvonen, J-S. Liow, S.S. Zoghbi, R. Gladding, J.T. Tauscher, J.M. Schaus, L. Phebus, C.C. Felder, C.L. Morse, S.R. Donohue, V.W. Pike, C. Halldin, and R.B. Innis. Imaging and quantitation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in human and monkey brain using 18F-labeled inverse agonist radioligands. J. Nucl. Med, 51: 112-120, 2010. PDF W.C. Kreisl, J.-S. Liow, N. Kimura, N. Seneca, S.S. Zoghbi, P. Herscovitch, V.W. Pike, and R.B. Innis. P-glycoprotein function at the blood-brain barrier in humans can be quantified with the substrate radiotracer 11C-N-desmethyl-loperamide. J. Nucl. Med., 51: 559-566, 2010 . PDF W.C. Kreisl, M. Fujita, Y. Fujimura, N. Kimura, K.J. Jenko, P. Kannan, J. Hong, C.L. Morse, S.S. Zoghbi, R.L. Gladding, S. Jacobson, U. Oh, V.W. Pike, and R.B. Innis. Comparison of [11C]-(R)-PK 11195 and [11C]PBR28, two radioligands for translocator protein (18 kDa) in human and monkey: implications for positron emission tomographic imaging of this inflammation biomarker. Neuroimage, 49: 2924-2932, 2010. PDF T. Itoh, K. Abe, J. Hong, O. Inoue, V.W. Pike, R.B. Innis, and M. Fujita. Effects of cAMP dependent protein kinase activator and inhibitor on in vivo PET rolipram binding to phosphodiesterase 4 in conscious rats. Synapse, 64: 172-176, 2010. PDF M. Ichise, D.C. Vines, T. Gura, G.M. Anderson, S.J. Suomi, J.D. Higley, R.B. Innis. Effects of early life stress on [11C]DASB PET imaging of serotonin transporters in adolescent peer- and mother-reared rhesus monkeys. J. Neurosci., 26: 4638-4643, 2006. PDF Address: 31 Center Drive, MSC-2035, Bldg. 31, Rm. B2B37, Bethesda, MD 20892-2035 Phone: 301.594.1368 Email Dr. Innis Fax: 301-480-3610 Lab Web Site: http://intramural.nimh.nih.gov/mib/     Principal Investigators Scientists & Clinicians DIRP Labs and Branches DIRP Research Areas Office of the Scientific Director Site Map Participate in Research Contact Us Careers in Research What’s New Functional MRI Core Magnetic Resonance Core Magnetoencephalography Core Microarray Core Neurophysiology Imaging Facility Scientific and Statistical Computing Core Section on Instrumentation Core Transgenic Core Veterinary Medicine Resources (Staff only) Office of the Scientific Director Office of the Clinical Director Office of Fellowship Training Office of Technology Transfer Administrative Services Branch Administrative Services

This page was last updated January 13, 2011.   Site Map Staff Directories Contact NIMH DIRP Employment Opportunities Privacy Notice Policies FOIA Accessibility

The Division of Intramural Research Programs is within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) which is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.