Focus
This program focuses on molecular imaging methods to guide individualized, precision medicine treatment for breast cancer patients with the goal of more effective, less toxic treatment. Research also seeks to elucidate the in vivo biology of breast cancer, using imaging. Current research focuses mostly on PET-based methods for imaging cancer metabolism, proliferation and quiescence, tumor receptor expression, and response to targeted therapy. The program brings together faculty specialists and key staff with experience in molecular imaging, breast imaging, oncology, breast surgery, clinical imaging study design and data analysis.
Leadership
Laboratory details
Faculty / Senior Staff
- Amy S. Clark, MD, MSCE
- Hoon Choi, PhD
- Christine Edmonds, MD
- Sharon Lee, PhD
- Elizabeth Li, PhD
- Saya Jacob, MD
- Sophia O’Brien, MD, MSEd
- Erin Schubert
- Meryl Weinberg (patient advocate)
- Jenny Zhang, MD
- Rong Zhou, PhD
Trainees
- Raheema Damani
Collaborators
- Lewis Chodosh, MD, PhD
- Jennifer Eads, MD
- Sarah Gitto, PhD
- Joel Karp, PhD
- Elizabeth McDonald, MD, PhD
- Suleman Surti, PhD
- Neil Taunk, MSCTS
- Christopher Hensley, MD, PhD (University of Alabama)
- Despina Kontos, PhD (Columbia University)
- Mark Muzi, MS (University of Washington)
- Lanell Peterson (University of Washington)
- NIH R37 CA291948: Dual-tracer multiparametric imaging with a long-axial field-of-view PET to better characterize cancer (Pantel PI)
- NIH R01 CA266285: PET Imaging of Glutamine Metabolism and Glutamate Transport to Guide Metabolically Targeted Therapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (Mankoff / Zhou PI)
- NIH R01 CA258717: Breast Cancer PARP PET Imaging AIP to Support FDA Approval & Commercialization (Mankoff PI)
- Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research: Exploiting metabolic transitions for therapeutic gain (Mankoff PI)
- Sreekumar A, Blankemeyer E, Sterner CJ, Pan TC, Pant DK, Acolatse S, Turkistani H, Belka GK, Nayak A, Carlin SD, Assenmacher CA, Sellmyer MA, Mankoff DA, Chodosh LA. Residual Breast Cancer Cells Co-opt SOX5-Driven Endochondral Ossification to Maintain Dormancy. Cancer Discov. 2026 Apr 1;16(4):781-799. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-25-0919. PMID: 41370830; PMCID: PMC12848863.
- Chen AW, Zeballos Torrez CR, Peterson LM, Muzi M, Specht JM, Cohen EA, Linden HM, Kontos D, Mankoff DA. Novel 4D radiomics applied to dynamic FES PET images to improve prediction of breast cancer response to ER-targeted therapy. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2026 Apr;53(5):3128-3139. doi: 10.1007/s00259-025-07570-y. Epub 2025 Nov 23. PMID: 41275453; PMCID: PMC13013131.
- Kwon D, Li EJ, Dulal C, Daube-Witherspoon M, Viswanath V, Young AJ, Damani RA, Hou-Liu J, McDonald ES, Mankoff DA, Karp JS, Pantel AR. Dual-Tracer Imaging on a Long-Axial-Field-of-View PET: A Proof-of-Principle Study with [18F]FGln and [18F]FDG. J Nucl Med. 2025 Jul 1;66(7):1149-1152. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.124.268831. PMID: 40506235; PMCID: PMC12212401.
- Choi H, Gupta M, Sengupta A, Furth EE, Hensley C, Weljie AM, Lee H, Lu YT, Pantel A, Mankoff D, Zhou R. Disruption of redox balance in glutaminolytic triple negative breast cancer by inhibition of glutaminase and glutamate export. Neoplasia. 2025 Mar;61:101136. doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2025.101136. Epub 2025 Feb 11. PMID: 39938153; PMCID: PMC11869985.
- O'Brien SR, Edmonds CE, Lanzo SM, Weeks JK, Mankoff DA, Pantel AR. 18F-Fluoroestradiol: Current Applications and Future Directions. Radiographics. 2023 Mar;43(3):e220143. doi: 10.1148/rg.220143. PMID: 36821506.
- O'Brien SR, Edmonds CE, Lanzo SM, Weeks JK, Mankoff DA, Pantel AR. 18F-Fluoroestradiol: Current Applications and Future Directions. Radiographics. 2023 Mar;43(3):e220143. doi: 10.1148/rg.220143. PMID: 36821506.
- Makhlin I, Korhonen KE, Martin ML, Gillman J, Schubert E, Pantel AR, Mankoff DA, Clark AS. 18F-FDG PET/CT for the Evaluation of Therapy Response in Hormone Receptor-Positive Bone-Dominant Metastatic Breast Cancer. Radiol Imaging Cancer. 2022 Nov;4(6):e220032. doi: 10.1148/rycan.220032. PMID: 36269154; PMCID: PMC9713595.
- Zhou R, Choi H, Cao J, Pantel A, Gupta M, Lee HS, Mankoff D. 18F-Fluciclovine PET Imaging of Glutaminase Inhibition in Breast Cancer Models. J Nucl Med. 2023 Jan;64(1):131-136. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.122.264152. Epub 2022 Jun 30. PMID: 35772960; PMCID: PMC9841257.
- Pantel AR, Viswanath V, Muzi M, Doot RK, Mankoff DA. Principles of Tracer Kinetic Analysis in Oncology, Part I: Principles and Overview of Methodology. J Nucl Med. 2022 Mar;63(3):342-352. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.121.263518. PMID: 35232879; PMCID: PMC8978199.
- Viswanath V, Zhou R, Lee H, Li S, Cragin A, Doot RK, Mankoff DA, Pantel AR. Kinetic Modeling of 18F-(2S,4R)4-Fluoroglutamine in Mouse Models of Breast Cancer to Estimate Glutamine Pool Size as an Indicator of Tumor Glutamine Metabolism. J Nucl Med. 2021 Aug 1;62(8):1154-1162. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.120.250977. Epub 2020 Dec 4. PMID: 33277391; PMCID: PMC8833875.
- Pantel AR, Viswanath V, Daube-Witherspoon ME, Dubroff JG, Muehllehner G, Parma MJ, Pryma DA, Schubert EK, Mankoff DA, Karp JS. PennPET Explorer: Human Imaging on a Whole-Body Imager. J Nucl Med. 2020 Jan;61(1):144-151. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.119.231845. Epub 2019 Sep 27. PMID: 31562224; PMCID: PMC6954463.
- Makvandi M, Pantel A, Schwartz L, Schubert E, Xu K, Hsieh CJ, Hou C, Kim H, Weng CC, Winters H, Doot R, Farwell MD, Pryma DA, Greenberg RA, Mankoff DA, Simpkins F, Mach RH, Lin LL. A PET imaging agent for evaluating PARP-1 expression in ovarian cancer. J Clin Invest. 2018 May 1;128(5):2116-2126. doi: 10.1172/JCI97992. Epub 2018 Apr 16. PMID: 29509546; PMCID: PMC5919879.
- Zhou R, Pantel AR, Li S, Lieberman BP, Ploessl K, Choi H, Blankemeyer E, Lee H, Kung HF, Mach RH, Mankoff DA. [18F](2S,4R)4-Fluoroglutamine PET Detects Glutamine Pool Size Changes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in Response to Glutaminase Inhibition. Cancer Res. 2017 Mar 15;77(6):1476-1484. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-1945. Epub 2017 Feb 15. PMID: 28202527; PMCID: PMC5362115.
Ashley Veronsky
Clinical Research Coordinator
Email: Ashley.Veronsky@Pennmedicine.upenn.edu