Martin (Marty) Pomper is a professor in the Neuroradiology Division of the Department of Radiology, director of the Small Animal Imaging Resource Program (SAIRP), co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE), co-director of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) at Johns Hopkins and associate director of the In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center (ICMIC). He is also the director of the Center for Translational Molecular Imaging (CTMI) on the Johns Hopkins Bayview Campus.
Dr. Pomper’s group consists of roughly 25 individuals, including graduate students, technicians, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, rotating students, residents and clinicians. The majority of their work involves chemical and radiochemical synthesis, as well as several projects involving molecular- genetic imaging, adapt and generate our own biological assays and translate quantitative imaging techniques to the clinic.
Pomper’s specific research projects in central nervous system imaging include:
- Using PET and advanced magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) techniques to uncover brain metabolic correlates of AIDS dementia
- Using PET to study molecular (neurotransmitter) and cellular abnormalities in patients with AIDS dementia
- The development of new radiopharmaceuticals for both imaging nicotinic and glutamatergic neurotransmission and imaging inflammation.
Pomper’s is experienced in oncology, advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, such as diffusion tensor and amide proton transfer imaging are being used to study brain tumors. He also studies radiopharmaceutical and optical imaging agents being developed to study prostate cancer, metastatic potential, infection, inflammation and the pharmacokinetics of chemotherapeutic agents in vivo.