H. Charles Manning is a chemist with a background in radiochemistry, medicinal chemistry and imaging science. Since starting his independent career at Vanderbilt University in 2006, his laboratory has focused on the discovery, translation, and validation of chemical and molecular probes for cancer imaging and therapy. During his tenure at Vanderbilt, Dr. Manning rose to the academic rank of Professor of Radiology, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Neurosurgery, and Chemical and Physical Biology.
As a Vanderbilt Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, Dr. Manning served the Ingram Cancer Center as the Director of Cancer Imaging Research starting in 2015. Dr. Manning also served as the founding Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Probes and Molecular Imaging Research. In this role, he led the scientific direction of Vanderbilt’s radiopharmaceutical and molecular imaging research programs. Continuously supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) throughout his career, as well as the DOD, industry and philanthropy partners, Dr. Manning’s lab discovers and translates novel radiopharmaceuticals and chemical probes, with emphasis on positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
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H. Charles Manning is a chemist with a background in radiochemistry, medicinal chemistry and imaging science. Since starting his independent career at Vanderbilt University in 2006, his laboratory has focused on the discovery, translation, and validation of chemical and molecular probes for cancer imaging and therapy. During his tenure at Vanderbilt, Dr. Manning rose to the academic rank of Professor of Radiology, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Neurosurgery, and Chemical and Physical Biology.
As a Vanderbilt Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, Dr. Manning served the Ingram Cancer Center as the Director of Cancer Imaging Research starting in 2015. Dr. Manning also served as the founding Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Probes and Molecular Imaging Research. In this role, he led the scientific direction of Vanderbilt’s radiopharmaceutical and molecular imaging research programs. Continuously supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) throughout his career, as well as the DOD, industry and philanthropy partners, Dr. Manning’s lab discovers and translates novel radiopharmaceuticals and chemical probes, with emphasis on positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.
In 2020, the Manning Laboratory relocated to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. At MD Anderson, Dr. Manning is a Professor in the Department of Cancer Systems Imaging and serves as the Scientific Director of the Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) in the Division of Diagnostic Imaging. He is a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Scholar.
The current directions of the Manning lab focus on quantifying cellular metabolism non-invasively through the use of high-affinity ligands for receptor-based targets and metabolic substrate transporters elevated in cancer cells. Spawning efforts into cancer drug development, Dr. Manning’s lab discovered the first potent and selective pharmacological inhibitors of ASCT2/SCL1A5, a glutamine transporter, including V-9302. This work has led to partnerships with industry and other academic labs to develop new small molecule therapies targeting glutamine metabolism in oncology and potentially other human diseases. Many projects in the Manning laboratory currently focus on molecular targets related to cancer cell metabolism and cell death, with emphasis on glutamine (Gln) metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, apoptosis, and autophagy. In addition to these biologically- and clinically-driven programs, the Manning laboratory is developing new radiochemistry technologies that enable dose-scale radiopharmaceutical production using inexpensive and disposable microfluidic devices. Beyond these and other specific research activities, the Manning lab acknowledges that the continued and future success of the field of molecular imaging is dependent upon training the next generations of physicians and scientists with expertise in molecular imaging, and specifically, radiochemistry. In fact, there is a tremendous shortage of individuals who have been formally trained in radiochemistry and related fields. For this reason, Dr. Manning is highly motivated to deploy unique education programs in radiochemistry and tracer development aimed at trainees at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels to address this critical shortfall.
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