EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Biomedical Imaging

英国在开发成像技术和技术方面有着悠久的历史，这些技术和技术使我们能够可视化一系列生物医学现象，从能够可视化单个细胞内的分子，到能够在患者体内非侵入性地拍照。这方面的例子包括Godfrey Hounsfield爵士（诺贝尔奖获得者和计算机断层扫描仪的共同发明者）和诺丁汉大学的Peter Mansfield爵士（诺贝尔奖获得者和磁共振成像的共同发明者）所做的开创性工作。英国两家研究委员会最近的一份报告显示，英国在这一领域的研究仍处于世界领先地位，但也表明，英国缺乏受过训练的医学成像专家。这意味着我们的研究机构和行业很难雇佣到合适的合格人才，要么不得不雇佣非英国公民，要么无法从事他们希望从事的工作。因此，博士培训中心的目的是通过联合英国两所顶尖的研究型大学，在这一领域提供严格的培训计划，来满足对更多训练有素的成像科学家的需求。特别是，为了响应我们的行业同事和NHS同事表达的需求，我们将实施一个博士培训计划，使学生了解医学成像的全面情况（例如，不同类型的成像，从细胞成像到整个人体成像的不同成像尺度，以及分析结果图像的不同方法）。由于这些学生大多具有物理科学（物理、工程和数学）的背景，我们还将为他们提供细胞基础生物学的培训，以及医学成像可以发挥作用的疾病范围的培训。经过第一年的培训，学生将在牛津大学和诺丁汉大学的专业研究实验室工作（有些学生在两所机构之间工作）。两所大学都有世界知名的科学家和优秀的设施为学生提供研究项目，最终每个学生都获得诺丁汉或牛津大学的博士学位。这些学生的研究范围和机会非常大，这两个机构的研究人员从事各种规模的医学成像（单细胞到整个人类），以及各种疾病，包括癌症、脑部疾病和心脏疾病。作为主要合作伙伴，我们将与来自行业的同事合作，这样我们的学生就可以获得在行业环境中工作的经验，这样他们所从事的一些项目就是由行业提出的。这种伙伴关系还将帮助我们培养训练有素的专家，这些专家对工业的运作方式有鉴赏力，并了解如何将研究想法商业化，从而成为国家的收入来源。我们相信，通过像这样严格的博士培训计划，我们将确保英国在未来的学术和工业竞争中处于有利地位。我们也相信，这将有利于NHS，因为我们的毕业生将开发成像技术，这将改进NHS对待我们的方式，从而节省资金，使我们接受的治疗更适合我们作为个体。

The United Kingdom has a strong history of having developed imaging techniques and technologies that allow us to visualize a range of biomedical phenomena, from being able to visualise molecules inside individual cells, to being able to take pictures non invasively inside patients. Examples of this include the pioneering work done by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of the Computed Tomography scanner), and Sir Peter Mansfield of Nottingham University (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of magnetic resonance imaging). A recent report from two of the UK Research Councils showed that the UK still has a world-leading research profile in this area, but also showed that there was a shortage of trained UK individuals who are experts in medical imaging. This means that our research institutions and industries struggle to employ suitably qualified individuals, and either have to employ non-UK nationals or cannot undertake the work they wish to.The aim of this Centre for Doctoral Training is therefore to address the need for more trained imaging scientists by linking together two of the UK's top research-intensive universities to deliver a rigorous training programme in this area. In particular, and in response to the needs expressed both by our industry colleagues and by our NHS colleagues, we will put in place a doctoral training programme that gives students an understanding of the full landscape of medical imaging (e.g. different types of imaging, different scales of imaging from cellular imaging up to whole human imaging, and different ways of analyzing the resulting images). Since these will mostly be students with a background in the physical sciences (physics, engineering and mathematics) we will also provide them with a training in the basic biology of cells, and in the range of diseases in which medical imaging can make a difference.Following a first year of training the students will work in specialist research laboratories in Oxford and Nottingham (with some students working between the two institutions). Both universities have world-renowned scientists and excellent facilities to host research projects for the students, culminating in each student receiving a doctoral degree from either Nottingham or Oxford. The range of research and opportunities available to these students is very large, with researchers in both institutions working at all scales of medical imaging (single cells to whole humans), and on various diseases, including cancer, brain disorders, and heart disorders.As major partners we will work with colleagues from industry so that our students gain experience in working in an industry environment, and so that some of the projects they work on are ones that are proposed by industry. This partnership will also help us produce trained experts who have an appreciation for the way that industry operates, and an understanding of how research ideas can be commercialized so that they become a source of income to the nation.We believe that by having a rigorous doctoral training programme like this we will ensure that the UK is well placed to compete academically and industrially in the future. We also believe that there will be benefits to the NHS, since our graduates will develop imaging techniques that will refine the way the NHS treats us, thus saving money and making the treatments that we receive more relevant to us as individuals.