Dr. Sundaram went to the medical school at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India. He was selected for the nuclear medicine residency program at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the premier medical institution in India. Immediately after finishing his residency, he was awarded the nternational Visiting Fogarty Fellowship at National Institutes of Health (NIH). At NIH, Dr. Sundaram developed a new quantitative model of FDG study, called Simplified Kinetic Analysis and worked in the field of PET quantification.
At the PET center at WSU, Dr.Sundaram recently demonstrated that in developmentally delayed children with normal conventional MRI scans, the arcuate fasciculus (language pathway) is entirely absent in about half of patients studied using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). This finding seems to suggest that adequate maturation of language pathways is an important precondition for higher cognitive functions to emerge. Further studies are underway to explore these results. In addition, he is currently focusing his efforts on using DTI and protein synthesis (using C-11 leucine PET) studies in autistic and developmentally delayed children.
PUBLICATIONS
 
1. Senthil K  Sundaram, Lalitha Sivaswamy, Malek I Makki, Michael E Behen and Harry T Chugani, MD.  Absence of Arcuate Fasciculus in Children with Developmental Delay of Unknown Etiology: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study. (In press: Journal of Pediatrics)
2. Sundaram SK, Muzik O, Chugani DC, Mu F, Mangner TJ, Chugani HT. Quantification of protein synthesis in the human brain using L-[1-11C]-leucine PET: incorporation of factors for large neutral amino acids in plasma and for amino acids recycled from tissue.J Nucl Med. 2006 Nov;47(11):1787-95.

3. Sundaram SK, Chugani DC, Chugani HT. Positron emission tomography methods with potential for increased understanding of mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2005;11(4):325-30.
4. Sundaram SK, Nanette M.T. Freedman, Jorge A. Carrasquillo, Joann M. Carson, Millie Whatley, Steven K. Libutti, David Sellers, and Stephen L. Bacharach. Simplified Kinetic Analysis of Tumor 18F-FDG Uptake: A Dynamic Approach. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 45: 1328-1333, 2004.
5.   James H. Holmes, Ronald L. Sorkness, Sara K. Meibom, Senthil K. Sundaram, Scott B. Perlman, Alexander K. Converse, Robert W. Pyzalski, Andrew D. Hahn, Frank R. Korosec, Thomas M. Grist, Sean  B. Fain. Noninvasive mapping of regional response to segmental allergen challenge using magnetic resonance imaging and [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Magn Reson Med. 2005 Jun;53(6):1243-50.
6.   Nanette MT Freedman, Senthil K Sundaram, Karen Kurdziel, Jorge A Carrasquillo, Millie Whatley, Joann M Carson, David Sellers, Steven K Libutti, James C Yang, Stephen L Bacharach. Comparison of SUV and patlak slope to monitor cancer therapy using serial PET scans. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, 46 – 53, 30(1), 2003
7.  Stephen L Bacharach, Senthil K Sundaram. FDG in Cardiac and Oncologic Imaging: The bitter with the sweet. Journal of Nuclear Medicine.1542-1544, 43(11), 2002.
8.  Senthil K Sundaram, Bal C S. Radionuclide cisternography. Indian Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 23-26; 15(1):2000.

PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS
1. Sundaram S, Chugani D, Munian Govindan R, Asano E, Juhasz C, Chakraborty P,Muzik O,Sood S,Chugani H.Alpha-methyl-L-tryptophan Positron Emission Tomography (AMT-PET) predicts surgical outcome in children with intractable neocortical epilepsy.  Annals of Neurology (2006), 60 (S10), Supplement: ANA and CNS meeting Programs, S137.

2.Muzik O, Sundaram SK, Mu F, Mangner TJ, Chugani DC, Chugani HT. A simplified approach for determining an index of brain protein synthesis using 1-[11C]-leucine PET. J Nucl Med 2005, 46(2): 124P

3.Muzik O, Sundaram SK, Mu, F, Mangner, T, Chugani, DC, Chugani, HT. Semi-Quantitative Assessment of Brain Protein Synthesis Using L-[1-11C]-leucine PET. J Neurol Sci 2005; 238 (1): S258

4. Sundaram SK, Freedman N, Carrasquillo JA, et al. Can Simplified Kinetic Patlak analysis be used to monitor tumor therapy? Journal of Nuclear Medicine 43 (5): 565 Suppl. S MAY 2002.

5. Freedman N, Sundaram SK, Carson JM, et al. Patlak tumor images revisited.    Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 43 (5), 365 Suppl. S MAY 2002.

6. Freedman N, Kurdziel KA, Sundaram SK, et al. Comparison of SUV and Patlak slope to monitor cancer therapy using serial PET scans. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 42 (5): 121 Suppl. S MAY 2001.
 
7. Sundaram SK, Bandopadhyaya G P, Kumar R, Malhotra A, Sriram M. Modified (F-15) diuretic renography in suspected PUJ obstruction in children. Abstract book of 20th international Congress of Radiology. ICR-98. 1998; 96.

PRESENTATIONS
Invited and/or refereed international or national meetings
1.  Senthil K  Sundaram, Lalitha Sivaswamy, Malek I Makki, Michael E Behen and Harry T Chugani, MD    Agenesis of Arcuate Fasciculus in children with global developmental delay of unknown etiology: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Accepted for poster presentation at the annual scientific meeting of ISMRM (2007).

2. Sundaram S, Chugani D, Munian Govindan R, Asano E, Juhasz C, Chakraborty P,Muzik O,Sood S,Chugani H.Alpha-methyl-L-tryptophan Positron Emission Tomography (AMT-PET) predicts surgical outcome in children with intractable neocortical epilepsy.  Annals of Neurology (2006), 60 (S10), Supplement: ANA and CNS meeting Programs, S137.

3.  Sundaram SK, Freedman N, Carrasquillo JA, et al. Can Simplified Kinetic Patlak analysis be used to monitor tumor therapy? Journal of Nuclear Medicine 43 (5): 565 Suppl. S MAY 2002.

4. Freedman N, Sundaram SK, Carson JM, et al. Patlak tumor images revisited.    Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 43 (5), 365 Suppl. S MAY 2002.

5. Freedman N, Kurdziel KA, Sundaram SK, et al. Comparison of SUV and Patlak slope to monitor cancer therapy using serial PET scans. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 42 (5): 121 Suppl. S MAY 2001.