New thesis presents tools for PET imaging and diabetes care
Using new tracers, researchers in Translational PET Imaging have visualised how diabetes drugs and transplanted insulin-producing cells behave in the body. “Our goal is to enable better diagnosis and treatment of obesity and diabetes,” says Amina Khalil, PhD student at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry.
Pharmaceutical sciences are making important advances in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Nevertheless, more knowledge is needed about how new drugs – not least the much-discussed drug Ozempic – actually work in the body. Amina Khalil, PhD student at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, now presents tools that use PET imaging to obtain detailed information of value to research, healthcare and patients.
Olof Eriksson, Professor of Translational PET imaging, Uppsala University
“We have developed and tested a PET tracer that targets GLP-1, a naturally occurring hormone that plays a role in the action of several modern drugs. Using this tracer, we have been able to visualise the extent to which certain drugs reach their intended targets and exert their effects. So far, our results offer hope that this approach could pave the way for more precise insights into drug dosage and treatment effects in individual patients,” says Amina Khalil.
In her PhD project, Amina Khalil has also developed a tracer focusing on type 1 diabetes. In this disease, the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans are destroyed by the body's immune system. Type 1 diabetes can now be treated with transplantation of pancreatic islets, but monitoring how many of the transplanted cells survive and remain functional is a complex process that often requires surgical procedures or biopsies.
“Using this second tracer, we have identified transplanted insulin-producing cells in mice. Our ambition is to advance the method forward into clinical studies in human and, in the longer term, provide tools that enable better diagnosis and treatment of diabetes and obesity,” says Amina Khalil.
Researcher profile
Amina Khalil received her master's degree in pharmaceutical formulation and computer-aided drug design from Uppsala University in spring 2022. Shortly afterwards, she was recruited as a PhD student to Professor Olof Eriksson's research group in Translational PET Imaging.
Facts
- Amina Khalil will defend her doctoral thesis PET Imaging of Incretin Receptors and Pancreatic Islets on Friday, 6 November, at 9:30 am in Rudbecksalen
- Supervisor is Olof Eriksson, Uppsala University
- Opponent is Adriana Tavares, University of Edinburgh
Contact
Amina Khalil, PhD Student
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Amina.Khalil@ilk.uu.se
text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o