Bradley T. Christian
Ph.D. , University of Wisconsin-Madison
Director of PET Physics, Waisman Brain Imaging Lab
Associate Professor, Medical Physics and Psychiatry

Contact Information:
Waisman Center
UW-Madison
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
Phone: (608) 890-0750
Fax: (608) 262-9440
E-mail: bchristian@wisc.edu

Research Statement

Our research focuses on developing and translating novel PET methods for the study of neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric illness. This involves using PET methodologies to investigate neurochemical changes in the brain and studying novel radioligands to characterize neurotransmitter-protein interactions and how they are influenced by development, genes, environment and drugs. These imaging methods are being applied to investigate the etiologies and mechanisms in diseases such as Down syndrome, affective disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and Tourette syndrome.

Representative Publications

Christian BT, Wooten DW, Hillmer AT, Tudorascu DL, Converse AK, Moore CF, Ahlers EO, Barnhart TE, Kalin NH, Barr CS, Schneider ML. Serotonin Transporter Genotype Affects Serotonin 5-HT1A Binding in Primates. Journal of Neuroscience 33(6):2512-2516, 2013. NIHMSID: NIHMS 442926.

Floberg JM, Holden JE, Weichert JP, Hall LT, Mistretta CA, Christian BT. (2012) Improved graphical analysis of dynamic PET data with optimized HYPR-LR. Medical Physics 39(6):3319-3331, 2012. PMCID: PMC3371076

Wooten DW, Hillmer AT, Moirano JM, Ahlers EO, Slesarev M, Barnhart TE, Mukherjee J, Schneider ML, Christian BT. (2012) Measurement of 5-HT_1A Receptor Density and In Vivo Binding Parameters of [¹⁸F]Mefway in the Nonhuman Primate. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 32(8):1546-1558, 2012. PMCID: PMC3421091

Slagter HA, Tomer R, Christian BT, Fox AS, Colzato LS, King CR, Murali D, Davidson RJ.(2012) PET evidence for a role for striatal dopamine in mediating the attentional blink: Functional implications. J Cognitive Neuroscience. 24(9):1932-1940, 2012. PMCID: PMC3536486

Hillmer AT, Wooten DW, Slesarev M, Ahlers EO, Barnhart TE, Murali D, Schneider ML, Mukherjee J, Christian BT. (2011) Specific α4β2 PET Imaging of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Quantitative Analysis of [¹⁸F]Nifene Kinetics in the Nonhuman Primate. J Nucl Med 53(9):1471-1480, 2012.

Wooten DW, Moirano JM, Hillmer AT, Engle JW, DeJesus OJ, Murali D, Barnhart TE, Nickles RJ, Davidson RJ, Schneider ML, Mukherjee J, Christian BT. (2011) In Vivo Kinetics of [¹⁸F]MEFWAY: A comparison with [¹¹C]WAY100635 and [¹⁸F]MPPF in the nonhuman primate. Synapse 65(7):592-600, 2011. PMCID: PMC3080024.

Gallagher CL, Holden J, Christian BT, Nickles RJ, Buyan-Dent L, Bendlin B, Dejesus O, Harding S, Stone C, Mueller B, Johnson SC. A within-subject comparison of 6-[¹⁸F]Fluoro-m-tyrosine and 6-[¹⁸F]Fluoro-L-dopa in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders 26(11):2032-2038, 2011. NIHMSID: NIHMS352210. PMCID: PMC3278160

Wooten DW, Hillmer AT, Murali D, Barnhart TE, Schneider ML, Mukherjee J, Christian BT. An In Vivo Comparison of cis- and trans- [¹⁸F]Mefway in the Nonhuman Primate. Nucl Med Biol 38(7):925-932, 2011. PMCID: PMC3190069.

Hillmer AT, Wooten DW, Moirano JM, Slesarev M, Barnhart TE, Engle J, Nickles RJ, Murali D, Schneider ML, Mukherjee J, Christian BT. Specific α4β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Binding of [¹⁸F]Nifene in the Rhesus Monkey. Synapse 65(12): 1309 – 1318, 2011. NIHMSID: NIHMS304706.

Pichika R, Easwaramoorthy B, Christian BT, Shi B, Narayanan TK, Collins D, Mukherjee J. Nicotinic α4β2 Receptor Imaging Agents. Part III. Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 5-(3'-¹⁸F-Fluoropropyl)-3-(2-(S)-Azetidinylmethoxy) Pyridine (¹⁸F-Nifzetidine). Nucl Med Biol 38(8):1183-1192, 2011. PMCID: PMC3217100