Dima A. Hammoud, MD

BS, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
MD, American University of Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Hammoud attended college at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, where she earned a bachelor's degree in biology and an MD degree. After completing a residency in diagnostic radiology at the American University of Beirut-Medical Center, she joined the division of neuroradiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital as a fellow. After completion of her fellowships, she joined the neuroradiology faculty at Johns Hopkins as assistant professor before eventually joining the neuroradiology faculty at the NIH Clinical Center.

Dr. Hammoud is board-certified in diagnostic imaging by the American Board of Radiology, and has completed fellowships in neuroradiology and PET imaging. She currently serves as chair of the "Imaging of Infections interest group" at the World Molecular Imaging Society, Chair of the animal care and use committee at the NIH Clinical Center, committee member of the intramural PET Steering Committee at NIH and member of the scientific program committee of the WMIC since 2021.

Dr. Hammoud’s research interests include the development of preclinical, translational and clinical molecular imaging applications to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of infection, and to provide reliable imaging biomarkers of infectious diseases. Current research in the laboratory focuses on the development and validation of novel fungal-specific imaging biomarkers in animal models of infection which can then be translated to human applications, using non-invasive molecular imaging techniques, mainly positron emission tomography.

Another interest of the lab is utilizing molecular imaging to better understand the pathophysiology of HIV in the brain and periphery and to identify HIV reservoirs.

Dr Hammoud also collaborates with the NIAID Integrated Research Facility, a biosafety level (BSL)-2 to BSL-4 biomedical research facility based in Fort Detrick, MD, to image high-consequence viral infections such as Ebola, Nipah and Lassa viruses.

See her Intramural Research Program bio page.

• Intramural Targeted Anti-COVID-19 (ITAC) Award: Imaging effect of S-protein mediated ACE2 downregulation on lung injury. Role:  Principal Investigator, 2020-2023
• Office of AIDS Research strategic fund: PET Imaging of HIV in animal models using radiolabeled single domain antibody against CD4-binding site of Gp120. Role: Principal Investigator, 2020
• Office of AIDS Research innovation fund: PET Imaging of Presynaptic Nigrostriatal Dopaminergic Function in Optimally Treated HIV+ Patients. Role: Principal Investigator, 2017
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Merit award, 2015
• Bench to Bedside award: Treatment of Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Role: Associate Investigator (PI: Avindra Nath), 2012-2013
• Bench to Bedside award: Imaging bacterial infection in immunocompromised patients. Role:  Principal Investigator, 2011-2012
• Dana Foundation Program in Brain and Immuno-imaging grant, Topic: Imaging Inflammation in AIDS Dementia: PET with [11C]Arachidonic Acid Role: Principal Investigator, July 1, 2005 – July 1, 2009

Lai J, Wang B, Petrik M, Beziere N, Hammoud DA. Radiotracer Development for Fungal-Specific Imaging: Past, Present, and Future. J Infect Dis. 2023 Oct 3;228:S259-S269.

Lau CY, Martinez-Orengo N, Lyndaker A, Flavahan K, Johnson RF, Shah S, Hammoud DA. Advances and Challenges in Molecular Imaging of Viral Infections. J Infect Dis. 2023 Oct3;228: S270-S280.

Hammoud DA, Clifford Lane H, Jain SK. Molecular Imaging of Infections: Advancing the Search for the Hidden Enemy. J Infect Dis. 2023 Oct 3;228:S233-S236.

Shah S, Turner ML, Chen X, Ances BM, Hammoud DA, Tucker EW. The Promise of Molecular Imaging: Focus on Central Nervous System Infections. J Infect Dis. 2023 Oct 3;228(Supplement_4):S311-S321.

Martinez-Orengo N, Tahmazian S, Lai J, Wang Z, Sinharay S, Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Basuli F, Maric D, Reid W, Shah S, Hammoud DA. Assessing organ-level immunoreactivity in a rat model of sepsis using TSPO PET imaging. Front Immunol. 2022;13:1010263.

Patel R, Manion MM, Laidlaw E, Wakim P, Wang Z, Anderson M, Galindo F, Rupert A, Lisco A, Heller T, Sereti I, Hammoud DA. Improvement of liver metabolic activity in people with advanced HIV after antiretroviral therapy initiation. AIDS. 2022 Jun 23.

Shah S, Sinharay S, Patel R, Solomon J, Lee JH, Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Basuli F, Zhang X, Hagen KR, Reeder R, Wakim P, Huzella LM, Maric D, Johnson RF, Hammoud DA. PET imaging of TSPO expression in immune cells can assess organ-level pathophysiology in high-consequence viral infections. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Apr 12;119(15):e2110846119.

Lai J, Shah S, Knight R, Martinez-Orengo N, Patel R, Mitchell A, Wang Z, Basuli F, Ordonez AA, Jain SK, Hammoud DA. Evaluation of 2-[ 18 F]-Fluorodeoxysorbitol PET Imaging in Preclinical Models of Aspergillus Infection. J Fungi, 2021, Dec 28;8(1):25

Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Solomon J, Lee JH, Castro M, Shah S, Martinez-Orengo N, Reeder R, Maric D, Gross R, Qin J, Hagen KR, Johnson RF, Hammoud DA. “Longitudinal in vivo imaging of acute neuropathology in a monkey model of Ebola virus infection”. Nature communications, 2021 May 17;12(1):2855.

Wang Z, Manion MM, Laidlaw E, Rupert A, Lau CY, Smith BR, Nath A, Sereti I, Hammoud DA. “Redistribution of brain glucose metabolism in people with HIV after antiretroviral therapy initiation”. AIDS. 2021 Jul 1;35(8):1209-1219.

Shah S, Sinharay S, Matsuda K, Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Muthusamy S, Lee D, Wakim P, Hirsch V, Nath A, Di Mascio M, Hammoud DA. Potential Mechanism for HIV-Associated Depression: Upregulation of Serotonin Transporters in SIV-Infected Macaques Detected by 11C-DASB PET. Front. Psychiatry, 23 May 2019 |https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00362.

Hammoud DA, Sinharay S, Shah S, Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Maric D, Muthusamy S, Lee DE, Lee CA, Basuli F, Reid WC, Wakim P, Matsuda K, Hirsch V, Nath A, Di Mascio M. Neuroinflammatory Changes in Relation to Cerebrospinal Fluid Viral Load in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Encephalitis. MBio. 2019 May 28;10(3). pii: e00970-19. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00970-19.

Sinharay S, Hammoud DA. Brain PET Imaging: Value for Understanding the Pathophysiology of HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND). Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2019 Feb 18.

Hammoud DA, Boulougoura A, Papadakis GZ, Wang J, Dodd LE, Rupert A, Higgins J, Gregg Roby G, Metzger D, Laidlaw E, Mican JM, Lage S, Wong C, Lisco A, Manion M, Sheikh V, Millo C, Sereti I. Increased metabolic activity on 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT in HIV-associated immune reconstitution syndrome. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2019 Jan 7;68(2):229-238.

Riggle BA, Sinharay S, Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Munasinghe JP, Maric D, Prchalova E, Slusher BS, Powell JD, Miller LH, Pierce SK, Hammoud DA. MRI demonstrates glutamine antagonist-mediated reversal of cerebral malaria pathology in mice. PNAS, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Dec 4. pii: 201812909.

Hammoud DA, Sinharay S, Steinbach S, Wakim PG, Geannopoulos K, Traino K, Dey AK, Tramont E, Rapoport SI, Snow J, Mehta NN, Smith BR, Nath A. Global and regional brain hypometabolism on FDG PET in treated HIV infected individuals. Neurology, 2018, Oct 23;91(17):e1591-e1601.

Mee TC, Aepfelbacher J, Krakora R, Chairez C, Kvaratskhelia N, Smith B, Sandfort V, Hadigan C, Morse C, Hammoud DA. Carotid magnetic resonance imaging in persons living with HIV and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score. Antivir Ther. 2018 Aug 8.

Schreiber-Stainthorp W, Sinharay S, Srinivasula S, Shah S, Wang J, Dodd L, Lane HC, Di Mascio M, Hammoud DA. Brain 18F-FDG PET of SIV-infected macaques after treatment interruption or initiation. J Neuroinflammation. 2018 Jul 14;15(1):207.

Casas R, Muthusamy S, Wakim PG, Sinharay S, Lentz MR, Reid WC, Hammoud DA. MR brain volumetric measurements are predictive of neurobehavioral impairment in the HIV-1 transgenic rat. Neuroimage Clinical. 2017 Nov 21;17:659-666.

Sinharay S, Lee D, Shah S, Muthusamy S, Papadakis GZ, Zhang X, Maric D, Reid WC, Hammoud DA. Cross-sectional and longitudinal small animal PET shows pre and post-synaptic striatal dopaminergic deficits in an animal model of HIV. Nucl Med Biol. 2017 Dec;55:27-33.

Hammoud DA. Molecular Imaging of Inflammation: Current Status. Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2016 Aug;57(8):1161-5.