Christer Halldin, PhD

Christer Halldin has focused his scientific research activities on developing radioligands for PET imaging in the central nervous system and applying these tracers in translational imaging studies from animal to clinical use. He has studied the parameters that make these labels suitable for use in the nervous system, including their metabolism and ability to penetrate into the brain. He has also developed radioligands that specifically recognize dopamine receptors and transporters, serotonin receptor subtypes and other receptors involved in brain function. Another important research area has been the development of tracers for measuring neurotransmitter release. In addition to brain imaging, Dr. Halldin has used his radioligands to to study postmortem human brain samples. He received a PhD in organic chemistry and radiochemistry from Uppsala University in 1984. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory, he joined the PET center at the Karolinska Institute, where he became director in 2003.