# Jacob Hooker Lurie Family Professor of Radiology in the Field of Autism Research ![Jacob Hooker](/sites/g/files/omnuum13191/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/2026-08/Hooker%2C%20Jacob%202.jpg?itok=aWc9U6-0) smartphone [617-726-6596](tel:617-726-6596) email laptop\_windows [Lab Website](https://www.martinos.org/faculty/) laptop\_windows [Publications](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=j9UuhDAAAAAJ&hl=en) Basic reaction methodology development for short-lived isotopes and the application of these new methods to the construction of novel PET imaging agents to probe humann brain function. Research in the Hooker Lab is diverse ranging from palladium to the pallidum. In short, we develop and use chemical biology tools to understand physiology *in vivo*. Our biggest focus area is in neurochemistry and we often use positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as tools to measure neurochemical dynamics in the human brain. Of course studies of the human brain of this type require a translational program that encompasses chemistry (e.g. synthesis methodology), biology (e.g. recombinant proteins, cell culture models, ex vivo tissue analysis), animal models (e.g. rodent and non-human primates) and expertise in other disciplines (e.g. neuroscience and medical physics). The Hooker Lab is unique in both its make-up and capabilities. Active projects in the Hooker lab develop tools for and/or study the chemical and molecular basis for autism, mental illness, and chronic pain. A major focus area is the characterizing normal brain neurochemical function and epigenetic changes that can occur over one's life. - ## Person Categories [Faculty](/person-categories/faculty) - ## Research Area [Medicinal chemistry / therapeutics](/research-area/medicinal-chemistry-therapeutics) [Small molecule probe design and applications](/research-area/small-molecule-probe-design-and-applications)