Dr. Clavijo Jordan’s interests include the use of molecular MR imaging to detect and characterize inflammation, fibrosis and cancer. She is particularly interested in understanding the role metals play in the development of disease. Recently, she and colleagues have been using molecular MRI probes that detect metals such as Zn and Cu. By stimulating the natural secretion mechanisms in secretory organs in vivo, it is possible to initiate the natural flux of these metals in organs including the pancreas, both endocrine and exocrine, and the prostate. This stimulatory paradigm allows researchers to interrogate the physiological metal flux, as well as its content. Recently, Dr. Clavijo Jordan and colleagues showed that a dysregulated zinc flux and loss of content can be detected with MRI in the prostate in models of prostate cancer. Using fibrosis, inflammation and metal-specific molecular probes, they intend to obtain a holistic view of disease with MRI.

Education

PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Arizona State University

Publications

1. Wang H, Jordan VC, Ramsay IA, Sojoodi M, Fuchs BC, Tanabe KK, et al. Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using a Redox-Active Iron Complex. J Am Chem Soc. 2019;141(14):5916-25.

2. Martins AF, Clavijo Jordan V, Bochner F, Chirayil S, Paranawithana N, Zhang S, et al. Imaging Insulin Secretion from Mouse Pancreas by MRI Is Improved by Use of a Zinc-Responsive MRI Sensor with Lower Affinity for Zn(2+) Ions. J Am Chem Soc. 2018;140(50):17456-64.

3. Clavijo Jordan MV, Lo ST, Chen S, Preihs C, Chirayil S, Zhang S, et al. Zinc-sensitive MRI contrast agent detects differential release of Zn(II) ions from the healthy vs. malignant mouse prostate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016;113(37):E5464-71.

Highlights

Patent issued:

Inventors: Christian Preihs, Jing Yu, Veronica Clavijo Jordan, Yunkou Wu, Khaled Nasr, A. Dean Sherry. “New Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents for Sensitive Detection of Zn2+ with MRI.” PCT/US2015/019928

Websites

The Caravan Lab