Ansel Hillmer, PhD, and Eric Webb, PhD, receives SNMMI Mars Shot Research Fund Award

Reston, VA (March 19, 2026)-- The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is pleased to announce that Ansel Hillmer, PhD, associate professor of radiology, and Eric Webb, PhD, research investigator, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have been selected as the recipients of a $100,000 Drs. Jane & Abass Alavi Mars Shot Research Award from the 2026 Mars Shot Fund. The Alavi Mars Shot Award is focused on advancing imaging research in infection and inflammation, and Hillmer and Webb s grant was awarded based on his proposal, "Molecular imaging of brain inflammation in Alzheimer s disease: Targeting the colony stimulating factor 1 receptor."

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating, progressive neurodegenerative disease that is the primary cause of dementia. Its pathology is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid and tau, and the role of brain inflammation is increasingly understood as a key mediator of these effects. The specific neuroinflammation mechanisms implicated in Alzheimer's disease, however, remain unclear.

Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) is expressed exclusively in the brain in microglia and is robustly upregulated in the post-mortem Alzheimer's disease brain. This provides a compelling imaging target for human studies of microglia-specific inflammation.

"While there is considerable interest in developing CSF1R-targeted PET radiotracers, limited specific binding makes it challenging," noted Hillmer. "Developing a radiotracer with higher specific binding to CSF1R is a potential game changer to advance the field s understanding of inflammation in the onset and progression of this devastating disease."

Hillmer and Webb aim to establish ¹⁸ F-PLX5622 as a next-generation PET radiotracer suitable for translation to human imaging studies of CSF1R in people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. They will first evaluate ¹⁸ F-PLX5622 imaging properties and specific binding in a mouse model and will then confirm cellular specificity. The specific binding of ¹⁸ F-PLX5622 will then be assessed in post-mortem tissue from individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

"This grant will provide a launch platform for use of ¹⁸ F-PLX5622 as a CSF1R PET radiotracer to diagnose, monitor, and guide treatment for inflammation in the context of Alzheimer's disease," said Webb. "Our hope is that this research will directly support future translation to clinical studies studying brain inflammation in people with Alzheimer's disease."

Hillmer's research leverages pharmacologically specific imaging modalities to study brain mechanisms of neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions. He received his PhD from University of Wisconsin, Madison. Webb's work focuses on developing robust (radio)chemical methodologies that open radiochemical space and readily translate across institutes. He earned his PhD from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Established in 2023, the SNMMI Mars Shot Research Fund is a forward-looking glimpse into the future of nuclear medicine. It provides resources that translate visionary nuclear medicine imaging, radiopharmaceutical therapy, and data science research or projects into tools or treatments that will help improve the lives of patients.

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The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
(SNMMI) is an international scientific and medical organization dedicated to advancing nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, and theranostics precision medicine that allows diagnosis and treatment to be tailored to individual patients in order to achieve the best possible outcomes. For more information, visit snmmi.org .