Bao Hu, PhD

Dr. Bao Hu has a multidisciplinary background in organic chemistry, radiochemistry, and engineering, with extensive experience in GMP production of PET radiopharmaceuticals. Since joining Stony Brook University in 2020, he has served as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and as Director of Tracer Production at the PET Research Core. His research focuses on advancing PET radiochemistry through methodological innovation, tracer development, and automation.

At Stony Brook, Dr. Hu has played a key role in establishing the radiochemistry facility at the MART building, where oversees GMP clinical tracer production for biomedical research. He re-engineered and optimized the TracerMaker™ automated C-11 synthesizer, enabling consecutive tracer productions through a fully integrated self-cleaning system, now serving as the core engine for C-11 production at the PET Research Core. His work includes developing novel precursors and radiosynthetic methods for C-11 and F-18 radiotracers—such as [¹¹C]SMBT-1, [¹⁸F]FVAT, and [¹⁸F]MFBG (now in Phase III clinical trials)—supporting clinical-grade production for neuropsychiatric and oncologic research at Stony Brook and beyond.

• Principal Investigator, departmental Pilot Research Grant, Development of [11C]SMBT-1 for imaging of monoamine oxidase-B
• Co-Investigator, NIH R01, Fluoride-mediated desilylative radio-synthesis of 11C-labeled PET tracers

1. Hu B, Xing S, Wang Z. Lewis Acid Catalyzed Ring-Opening Intramolecular Friedel-Crafts Alkylation of Methylenecyclopropane 1,1-Diesters. Organic Letters, 2008, 10, 5481-5484. PMID: 18991443.
2. Hu B, Zhu J, Xing S, Fang J, Du D, Wang Z. A Highly Site-, Regio-, and Stereoselective Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Formal [3+3] Cycloaddition of Methylenecyclopropane- 1,1-Diesters with C,N-Diarylnitrones. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2009, 15, 324-327. PMID: 19034940.
3. Hu B, Jiang L, Ren J, Wang Z. A n-BuLi-Mediated Expeditious and Stereoselective Ring-Opening Rearrangement of Aryl Methylenecyclopropane 1,1-Diesters. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2010, 1358-1363.
4. Hu B, Xing S, Ren J, Wang Z. Total Synthesis of (±)-Bruguierol A via an Intramolecular [3+2] Cycloaddition of Cyclopropane 1,1-Diester. Tetrahedron, 2010, 66, 5671-5674.
5. Hu B, Ren J, Wang Z. Lewis Acid-Catalyzed Nucleophilic Ring-Opening/Intramolecular Conia-ene Reactions of Methylenecyclopropane 1,1-Diesters with Propargyl Alcohols. Tetrahedron, 2011, 67, 763-768.
6. Hu B, Wang Z, Ai N, Zheng J, Liu X, Shan S. Wang. Z. Catalyst-Free Preparation of 1,2,4,5-Tetrasubstituted Imidazoles from a Novel Unexpected Domino Reaction of 2-Azido Acrylates and Nitrones. Organic Letters, 2011, 13, 6362-6365. PMID: 22070138.
7. Hu B, DiMagno SG. Reactivities of Vinyl Azides and Their Recent Applications in Nitrogen Heterocycle Synthesis. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2015, 13, 3844-3855. PMID: 25731154.
8. Hu B, Miller WH, Neumann KD, Linstad EJ, DiMagno SG. An Alternative to the Sandmeyer Approach to Aryl Iodides. Chemistry - A European Journal, 2015, 21, 6394-6398. PMID: 25757054.
9. Qin L†, Hu B† (Co-first author), Neumann KD, Linstad EJ, McCauley K, Veness J, Kempinger JJ, DiMagno SG. A Mild and General One-Pot Synthesis of Densely Functionalized Diaryliodonium Salts. European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015, 5919-5924. PMID: 27065751.
10. Hu B†, Vāvere AL† (Co-first author), Neumann KD, DiMagno SG, Snyder SE. Improved, Automated Synthesis of meta-[18F]fluorobenzylguanidine for Clinical Use. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2015, 6, 1870-1879. PMID: 26313342.
11. Qu W†, Hu B† (Co-first author), Babich JW, Watherhouse N, Dooley M, Ponnala S, Urgiles J. A General 11C-Labeling Approach Mediated by Fluoride-Desilylation of Organosilanes. Nature Communications, 2020, 11, 1736. PMID: 32269227.
12. Hu B, Hari AK, Noh D, Mui YF, Slifstein M, Parsey R, Qu W. An Improved Synthesis of [18F]VAT PET and its Precursor. Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals, 2023, 66, 384-392. PMID: 37615234.
13. Akula HK, Hu B, Brunner J, Li K, Saleh L, Vaska P, Qu W. Deuterium- and Fluorine-18-Labeled Glutamine - a PET Imaging Agent with Enhanced In Vivo Stability. ACS Omega, 2025, 10, 29741-29753. PMID: 40686998.