Sanjay Jain Lab


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 Buzz & news

February 2026 - Hot of the press: Adding clofazimine to the standard TB regimen markedly improves bactericidal activity and reduces brain inflammation in a TB meningitis model, pointing to a promising adjunctive strategy. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiag123

February 2026 - Hot off the press: Our first paper of 2026 is out! This study shows why looking beyond rifampin matters for TB meningitis, highlighting rifapentine and rifabutin as promising alternatives to improve outcomes. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiag087

July 2025 - Hot off the press: 18F-Fluorodeoxysorbitol PET for noninvasive detection of invasive mold infections: preclinical and first-in-human studies Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61700-6


June 2025 - Hot off the press: Improved Radiosynthesis of [18F]-Labeled Oxazolidinone Antibiotics for Future Clinical Translation. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsinfecdis.5c00292

© 2025 American Chemical Society

March 2025 - Hot off the press: Dynamic 11C-PABA PET/CT for Visualizing Pulmonary Mycobacteroides abscessus Infections. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.202409-1792oc

March 2025 - Hot off the press: Proapoptotic Bcl-2 inhibitor as potential host directed therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58190-x

August 2024 - Hot off the press: Dynamic PET reveals compartmentalized brain and lung tissue antibiotic exposures of tuberculosis drugs. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50989-4

December 2023 - Hot off the press: Linezolid does not improve bactericidal activity of rifampin-containing first-line regimens in animal models of TB meningitis. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.107048

October 2023 - Next-generation molecular imaging affords unique opportunities to target and identify bacterial infections, enabling spatial characterization as well as noninvasive, temporal monitoring of the natural course of the disease and response to therapy. Learn more: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiad078

December 2022 - Hot off the press - Dynamic 18F-Pretomanid PET imaging in animal models of TB meningitis and human studies - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35730-3

January 2022 - Hot off the press - We used a combination of Microbiology and Molecular Imaging approaches to assess the efficacy of a new regimen for TB meningitis, and monitor its impact on neuroinflammation and BBB integrity. Check our latest paper in JCI https://www.jci.org/articles/view/155851


January 2022 - Hot off the press - Trouble diagnosing MRSA prosthetic joint infections? Our work shows how bacteria-specific PET imaging can detect Staph infections in muscle, bone, and implants. Check out our latest paper in JCI insight: https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/154117


December 2021 - Down to the Bone: High-dose rifampin to shorten the duration of treatment for bone infection. Check our latest translational study in Science Translational Medicine: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34851697/


December 2021 - Hot of the press! High-risk children may develop severe COVID, can convalescent plasma give them enough antibodies for protection? https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/151518#.Yaj8-tp0a6M.twitter


July 2021 -Hot off the press- Sex Differences in Lung Imaging and SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Responses in a COVID-19 Golden Syrian Hamster Model. MBio (https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.00974-21)


April 2021 -Hot off the press- Imaging Enterobacterales infections in patients using pathogen-specific positron emission tomography. Science Translational Medicine (https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/13/589/eabe9805)

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Imaging Agent Spots and Distinguishes Dangerous Bacterial Infections
— @ScienceTM

Our lab

Dr. Jain’s laboratory focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases, with a particular emphasis on bacterial and high-containment pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis.

Our research integrates small animal models with advanced molecular imaging technologies, including CT, PET, SPECT, and MRI. Through these approaches, we develop and apply novel radiopharmaceutical imaging methods to study disease progression and to advance precision medicine strategies for the diagnosis and monitoring of infections.

The lab has a unique capability to perform imaging studies in animals infected with high-containment pathogens under biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) conditions. Several imaging tracers developed in our laboratory are currently undergoing evaluation in first-in-human clinical studies.