Chao Zheng is a scientist at the Brain Health Imaging Centre and the Azrieli Centre for Neuro-Radiochemistry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
Prior joining CAMH/University of Toronto, Dr. Zheng held a research junior faculty position as an associate research scientist at the Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, from 2021 to 2023. Dr. Zheng was trained in organic and medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry, PET neuroimaging, and molecular imaging in neuroscience. Prior to 2021, he gained valuable experience through two postdoctoral training positions: one at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in molecular imaging and the other at Yale University in the field of PET neuroimaging. He obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and his PhD degree in organic chemistry from Peking University. Dr. Zheng’s research has been funded by prominent institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Alzheimer's Association, Yale Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC), and the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI). In addition to this research, Dr. Zheng serves as a Reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Zheng has presented his research at numerous international conferences, where his contributions were well recognized. Notably, Dr. Zheng was the recipient of the prestigious Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Young Investigator Awards, including the Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council (2021 & 2022) and the Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation & Translation Council (2022).
Areas of Research
Dr. Zheng’s research focuses on the development and application of innovative radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and assessment of treatment in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. His work contributes to the advancement of both fundamental and clinical knowledge in translational PET neuroimaging. Dr. Zheng’s research program has specific objectives:
- Adapting cutting-edge organic chemistry reactions for radiochemical applications, and
- Developing and applying novel PET imaging methods that directly capture biochemical or phenotypic changes in vivo. This involves integrating disciplines such as medicinal chemistry, radiochemistry, quantitative PET imaging from in vitro and preclinical in vivo studies, and pharmacology.
Publications
View Dr. Zheng's publications on NCBI.