Jacob M. Hooker is an American chemist and expert in molecular imaging, specifically in the development and application of combined MRI and PET. He is the Lurie FamilyProfessor of Radiology specializing in Autism Research at Harvard Medical School.[1] He also serves as a Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport MGH Research Scholar, director of radiochemistry at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and scientific director at the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital. [2]

Life and education

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He grew up outside of Asheville, North Carolina and attended Enka High School. Hooker received a B.S. in Textile Chemistry and Chemistry from North Carolina State University in 2002 and later earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley[3] Hooker then completed postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Joanna Fowler at the Brookhaven National Laboratory,[4] as a Goldhaber Distinguished Fellow, developing new neuroscience-oriented imaging methods and protocols.[5]

Career

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Hooker relocated to Boston,Massachusetts in 2009 at the initiation of his independent research career at the Martinos Center.[6] He co-designed and built a cyclotron and radiopharmacy facility housing a Siemens Eclipse HP Cyclotron, completed early 2011.[7] At Massachusetts General Hospital, Hooker co-founded and co-directs an imaging facility that combines functional MRI and positron emission tomography (PET) for the neurochemical study of the Human Brain.[8] He holds associate appointments at the Broad Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[9] From 2017 to 2021, Hooker co-founded Eikonizo Therapeutics and later Sensorium Therapeutics.[10] He is also Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience.[11]

Hooker has been a Scientific Advisor for Delix Therapeutics, Psy Therapeutics, Inc., and Fuzionaire Diagnostics.[12] He is also chief science advisor to Rocket Science Health.[13]

Research

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His research focus centers on the themes of neuroepigenetic, radiochemistry methods development and neuroimaging methods development, particularly leveraging positron emission tomography (PET).[14][15] Hooker has published over 200 papers[16] in the domains of:

 
MR-PET: [11C]Martinostat uptake in living human brain.

PET Radiotracer Development

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Hooker has developed PET radiotracers for measuring biochemistry in the human brain.[17] For example, in 2016, Hooker's team created the first detailed images of how certain brain enzymes, known as Class-I histone deacetylases (HDACs), function in living humans.[18] These enzymes play a key role in regulating genes and are linked to various brain disorders. By visualizing their activity, the research opened new doors to understanding how changes in these enzymes might contribute to conditions like schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and autism, potentially leading to more targeted treatments. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Radiochemistry

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Hooker has made contributions to the advancement of radiochemistry methods for PET imaging.[30] [31] [32]For example, in 2011, Hooker collaborated with the Tobias Ritter lab to demonstrate the use of a palladium-IV complex in switching fluoride behavior in chemical reactions. This research was one of many other significant advances in radiochemistry and molecular imaging applications and decarboxylation with manganese catalysts.[33] [34]

Research on autism

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As the scientific director of the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital, Hooker's work focuses on identifying specific subtypes of autism, which could pave the way for more precise diagnoses and treatments.[35] [36]

Neuroimaging methods

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Hooker and his team were able to develop a method for brain glucose monitoring that produced something more like a movie, reporting changes in glucose use in response to multiple stimuli during a single PET scan.[37] The lab is now expanding the concept of dynamic, functional PET imaging to measure real-time neurotransmitter release in the living human brain.[38]

Other areas of exploration

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At Harvard, Hooker's research lab, in collaboration with the Steve Haggarty lab, is exploring novel plant-based and entheogenic psychedelics, Their work includes projects such as investigating the potential of psychedelics in therapeutic applications.[39]

Recognition

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In 2010, He received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[40][41] In 2016, Hooker was named as a Phyllis and Jerome Lyle Rappaport MGH Research Scholar] which acknowledges 'forward thinking researchers with the funding they need to take their work into uncharted territories'.[42] In 2015, He was featured in the inaugural Talented 12 list by Chemical & Engineering News, for his work work in the area of molecular imaging, particularly focusing on positron emission tomography (PET).[43]

In 2015, the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation acknowledged Hooker with an Independent Investigator Award for research piloting neuroimaging in patients with Schizophrenia. [44]He was named by The Scientist magazine as a Scientist to Watch,[45] and in an article dubbing him 'The Mind Mapper' was among inaugural winners of the Talented 12 Award from the American Chemical Society's C & E News.[46][47]

Hooker was named by the National Academy of Sciences as a Kavli Fellow for a five-year tenure (2012-2017) and as a Keck Futures Initiative Fellow (2013-2015).[48]

References

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  1. ^ Goldsmith, Paul (25 June 2024). "Autism and Old Age: Closing the Care Gap". Massachusetts General Hospital Giving.
  2. ^ Bohonak, Jennifer Nejman (2021-11-08). "New Scientific Director Aims to Broaden Autism Research". Massachusetts General Hospital Giving. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  3. ^ "Jacob Hooker: Weaver of Brain Science". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  4. ^ "Brookhaven Chemist Jacob Hooker Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers". Brookhaven National Laboratory. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  5. ^ Grant, Bob. "Jacob Hooker: Weaver of Brain Science". The Scientist. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Brookhaven Chemist Jacob Hooker Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers". Brookhaven National Laboratory.
  7. ^ "Jacob Hooker | Martinos Center". Martinos. 28 March 2019.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Tonya M.; Zürcher, Nicole R.; Wu, Christine J.; Bhanot, Anisha; Hightower, Baileigh G.; Kim, Minhae; Albrecht, Daniel S.; Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Schroeder, Frederick A.; Rodriguez-Thompson, Anais; Morin, Thomas M.; Hart, Kamber L.; Pellegrini, Amelia M.; Riley, Misha M.; Wang, Changning; Stufflebeam, Steven M.; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Holt, Daphne J.; Loggia, Marco L.; Perlis, Roy H.; Brown, Hannah E.; Roffman, Joshua L.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2 January 2019). "PET neuroimaging reveals histone deacetylase dysregulation in schizophrenia". The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 129 (1): 364–372. doi:10.1172/JCI123743. ISSN 0021-9738.
  9. ^ "Jacob Hooker". Cure Alzheimer's Fund.
  10. ^ "Sensorium Scores $30M to Change Risk-Value Proposition in CNS Drug Discovery". BioSpace. 7 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Jacob Hooker appointed editor-in-chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience". Knowledgespeak.
  12. ^ "Jacob Hooker - Co-Founder at Sensorium Therapeutics". THE ORG.
  13. ^ "Jacob Hooker | Chemical Biology PhD". chembiophd.hms.harvard.edu.
  14. ^ Nonacs, Ruta; Rosenbaum, Jerrold (30 December 2021). "Jerrold Rosenbaum, MD: Toward a Better Understanding of How Psychedelics Work". MGH Psychiatry News.
  15. ^ "Harvard Medical School professor discusses future of psychedelics". Harvard Gazette. 10 June 2021.
  16. ^ Search Results for author Hooker JM on PubMed.
  17. ^ Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Gilbert, Tonya M.; Zürcher, Nicole R.; She, Angela; Bhanot, Anisha; Taillon, Brendan D.; Schroeder, Fredrick A.; Wang, Changing; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2016). "Insights into neuroepigenetics through human histone deacetylase PET imaging". Science Translational Medicine. 8 (351): 351ra106. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf7551. PMC 5784409. PMID 27510902.[non-primary source needed]
  18. ^ Hooker, Jacob M.; Kim, Sung Won; Alexoff, David; Xu, Youwen; Shea, Colleen; Reid, Alicia; Volkow, Nora; Fowler, Joanna S. (2010). "Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor MS-275 Exhibits Poor Brain Penetration: Pharmacokinetic Studies of [11C]MS-275 using Positron Emission Tomography". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 1 (1): 65–73. doi:10.1021/cn9000268. PMC 2908422. PMID 20657706.[non-primary source needed]
  19. ^ Wang, Changning; Eessalu, Thomas E.; Barth, Vanessa N.; Mitch, Charles H.; Wagner, Florence F.; Hong, Yijia; Neelamegam, Ramesh; Schroeder, Frederick A.; Holson, Edward B. (2013). "Design, synthesis, and evaluation of hydroxamic acid-based molecular probes for in vivo imaging of histone deacetylase (HDAC) in brain". American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. 4 (1): 29–38. PMC 3867727. PMID 24380043.
  20. ^ Seo, Young Jun; Muench, Lisa; Reid, Alicia; Chen, Jinzhu; Kang, Yeona; Hooker, Jacob M.; Volkow, Nora D.; Fowler, Joanna S.; Kim, Sung Won (2013). "Radionuclide labeling and evaluation of candidate radioligands for PET imaging of histone deacetylase in the brain". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 23 (24): 6700–6705. doi:10.1016/j.bmcl.2013.10.038. PMC 4007514. PMID 24210501.[non-primary source needed]
  21. ^ Kim, Sung Won; Hooker, Jacob M.; Otto, Nicola; Win, Khaing; Muench, Lisa; Shea, Colleen; Carter, Pauline; King, Payton; Reid, Alicia E.; Volkow, Nora D.; Fowler, Joanna S. (2013). "Whole-body pharmacokinetics of HDAC inhibitor drugs, butyric acid, valproic acid and 4-phenylbutyric acid measured with carbon-11 labeled analogs by PET". Nuclear Medicine and Biology. 40 (7): 912–918. doi:10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2013.06.007. PMC 3769509. PMID 23906667.[non-primary source needed]
  22. ^ Schroeder, Frederick A.; Chonde, Daniel B.; Riley, Misha M.; Moseley, Christian K.; Granda, Michael L.; Wilson, Colin M.; Wagner, Florence F.; Zhang, Yan-Ling; Gale, Jennifer; Holson, Edward B.; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2013). "FDG-PET imaging reveals local brain glucose utilization is altered by class I histone deacetylase inhibitors". Neuroscience Letters. 550: 119–124. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2013.06.016. PMC 3750730. PMID 23810801.[non-primary source needed]
  23. ^ Wang, Yajie; Zhang, Yan-Ling; Hennig, Krista; Gale, Jennifer P.; Hong, Yijia; Cha, Anna; Riley, Misha; Wagner, Florence; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Holson, Edward; Hooker, Jacob (2013). "Class I HDAC imaging using [3H]CI-994 autoradiography". Epigenetics. 8 (7): 756–764. doi:10.4161/epi.25202. PMC 3781195. PMID 23803584.[non-primary source needed]
  24. ^ Schroeder, Frederick A.; Lewis, Michael C.; Fass, Daniel M.; Wagner, Florence F.; Zhang, Yan-Ling; Hennig, Krista M.; Gale, Jennifer; Zhao, Wen-Ning; Reis, Surya; Barker, Douglas D.; Berry-Scott, Erin; Kim, Sung Won; Clore, Elizabeth L.; Hooker, Jacob M.; Holson, Edward B.; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Petryshen, Tracey L. (2013). "A Selective HDAC 1/2 Inhibitor Modulates Chromatin and Gene Expression in Brain and Alters Mouse Behavior in Two Mood-Related Tests". PLOS ONE. 8 (8): e71323. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...871323S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071323. PMC 3743770. PMID 23967191.[non-primary source needed]
  25. ^ Seo, Young Jun; Kang, Yeona; Muench, Lisa; Reid, Alicia; Caesar, Shannon; Jean, Logan; Wagner, Florence; Holson, Edward; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Weiss, Philipp; King, Payton; Carter, Pauline; Volkow, Nora D.; Fowler, Joanna S.; Hooker, Jacob M.; Kim, Sung Won (2014). "Image-Guided Synthesis Reveals Potent Blood-Brain Barrier Permeable Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 5 (7): 588–596. doi:10.1021/cn500021p. PMC 4102966. PMID 24780082.[non-primary source needed]
  26. ^ Wang, Changning; Schroeder, Frederick A.; Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Borra, Ronald; Wagner, Florence F.; Reis, Surya; Kim, Sung Won; Holson, Edward B.; Haggarty, Stephen J.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2014). "In Vivo Imaging of Histone Deacetylases (HDACs) in the Central Nervous System and Major Peripheral Organs". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 57 (19): 7999–8009. doi:10.1021/jm500872p. PMC 4191584. PMID 25203558.[non-primary source needed]
  27. ^ Schroeder, F. A.; Wang, C.; Van De Bittner, G. C.; Neelamegam, R.; Takakura, W. R.; Karunakaran, A.; Wey, H. Y.; Reis, S. A.; Gale, J.; Zhang, Y. L.; Holson, E. B.; Haggarty, S. J.; Hooker, J. M. (2014). "PET Imaging Demonstrates Histone Deacetylase Target Engagement and Clarifies Brain Penetrance of Known and Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors in Rat". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 5 (10): 1055–1062. doi:10.1021/cn500162j. PMC 4198064. PMID 25188794.[non-primary source needed]
  28. ^ Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Wang, Changning; Schroeder, Frederick A.; Logan, Jean; Price, Julie C.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2015). "Kinetic Analysis and Quantification of [11C]Martinostat for in Vivo HDAC Imaging of the Brain". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 6 (5): 708–715. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00066. PMC 4439341. PMID 25768025.[non-primary source needed]
  29. ^ Strebl, Martin G.; Wang, Changning; Schroeder, Frederick A.; Placzek, Michael S.; Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Van De Bittner, Genevieve C.; Neelamegam, Ramesh; Hooker, Jacob M. (2016). "Development of a Fluorinated Class-I HDAC Radiotracer Reveals Key Chemical Determinants of Brain Penetrance". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 7 (5): 528–533. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00297. PMC 5784429. PMID 26675505.[non-primary source needed]
  30. ^ Lee, Eunsung; Kamlet, Adam S.; Powers, David C.; Neumann, Constanze N.; Boursalian, Gregory B.; Furuya, Takeru; Choi, Daniel C.; Hooker, Jacob M.; Ritter, Tobias (2011). "A Fluoride-Derived Electrophilic Late-Stage Fluorination Reagent for PET Imaging". Science. 334 (6056): 639–642. Bibcode:2011Sci...334..639L. doi:10.1126/science.1212625. PMC 3229297. PMID 22053044.[non-primary source needed]
  31. ^ Lee, Hong Geun; Milner, Phillip J.; Placzek, Michael S.; Buchwald, Stephen L.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2015). "Virtually Instantaneous, Room-Temperature [11C]-Cyanation Using Biaryl Phosphine Pd(0) Complexes". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 137 (2): 648–651. doi:10.1021/ja512115s. PMC 4394387. PMID 25565277.[non-primary source needed]
  32. ^ Huang, Xiongyi; Liu, Wei; Ren, Hong; Neelamegam, Ramesh; Hooker, Jacob M.; Groves, John T. (2014). "Late Stage Benzylic C–H Fluorination with [18F]Fluoride for PET Imaging". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 136 (19): 6842–6845. doi:10.1021/ja5039819. PMID 24766544.[non-primary source needed]
  33. ^ Huang, Xiongyi; Liu, Wei; Hooker, Jacob M.; Groves, John T. (2015). "Targeted Fluorination with the Fluoride Ion by Manganese-Catalyzed Decarboxylation". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 54 (17): 5241–5245. doi:10.1002/anie.201500399. PMID 25736895.[non-primary source needed]
  34. ^ Neumann, Constanze N.; Hooker, Jacob M.; Ritter, Tobias (2016). "Concerted nucleophilic aromatic substitution with 19F− and 18F−". Nature. 534 (7607): 369–373. Bibcode:2016Natur.534..369N. doi:10.1038/nature17667. PMC 4911285. PMID 27281221.[non-primary source needed]
  35. ^ J. Freyer, Felice; November 22, Updated. "'It's a very human condition': Researchers seek answers to mystery of autism, in blood - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Tseng, Chieh-En Jane; Canales, Camila; Marcus, Rachel E.; Parmar, Anjali J.; Hightower, Baileigh G.; Mullett, Jennifer E.; Makary, Meena M.; Tassone, Alison U.; Saro, Hannah K.; Townsend, Paige Hickey; Birtwell, Kirstin; Nowinski, Lisa; Thom, Robyn P.; Palumbo, Michelle L.; Keary, Christopher; Catana, Ciprian; McDougle, Christopher J.; Hooker, Jacob M.; Zürcher, Nicole R. (June 2024). "In vivo translocator protein in females with autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study". Neuropsychopharmacology. 49 (7): 1193–1201. doi:10.1038/s41386-024-01859-6. ISSN 1740-634X.
  37. ^ Villien, Marjorie; Wey, Hsiao-Ying; Mandeville, Joseph B.; Catana, Ciprian; Polimeni, Jonathan R.; Sander, Christin Y.; Zürcher, Nicole R.; Chonde, Daniel B.; Fowler, Joanna S.; Rosen, Bruce R.; Hooker, Jacob M. (2014). "Dynamic functional imaging of brain glucose utilization using fPET-FDG". NeuroImage. 100: 192–199. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.025. PMC 4224310. PMID 24936683.[non-primary source needed]
  38. ^ Loggia, Marco L.; Chonde, Daniel B.; Akeju, Oluwaseun; Arabasz, Grae; Catana, Ciprian; Edwards, Robert R.; Hill, Elena; Hsu, Shirley; Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Ji, Ru-Rong; Riley, Misha; Wasan, Ajay D.; Zürcher, Nicole R.; Albrecht, Daniel S.; Vangel, Mark G.; Rosen, Bruce R.; Napadow, Vitaly; Hooker, Jacob M. (2015). "Evidence for brain glial activation in chronic pain patients". Brain. 138 (3): 604–615. doi:10.1093/brain/awu377. PMC 4339770. PMID 25582579.[non-primary source needed]
  39. ^ Weintraub, Karen. "Doctor hopes film raises awareness about adult autism - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
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  48. ^ "'How big can I dream?' – Rappaport". Rappaport Foundation.