High performance in vivo imaging equipment to facilitate infectious disease research

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Research at LSHTM is focused on infectious diseases that impact on some of the poorest people on the planet, with the long-term aim of developing more effective drugs and vaccines. However, progress in this area has been impeded by gaps in our knowledge of pathogen biology and how interactions with the host result in disease progression. Our research strategy is to address these issues, hand-in-hand with drug development. In vivo imaging is a key technology in infectious disease research. It allows parasitic and bacterial infections in experimental mice to be monitored long-term in a non-invasive manner, and can be further adapted to provide data on tissue-specific and cell-specific infection and disease pathology. Scientists at LSHTM have been leaders in the application of these procedures. However, after a decade of heavy usage, our current equipment is reaching the end of its life-span, and has been overtaken by a new generation of imaging systems with enhanced technical specifications, resolution and sensitivity. The ultra-high resolution optical system, produced by MILabs, for which we are seeking funding is cutting edge technology. It will allow highly sensitive in vivo imaging and the monitoring of disease progression in 3 dimensions (tomography), ultimately at single cell resolution. The new equipment will be housed in a dedicated containment level 3 facility, where it will enable LSHTM researchers to take our research on globally important pathogens to a new level of detail. In addition, it will allow us to expand further collaborations on drug development with the pharmaceutical sector, and provide new opportunities to engage with researchers from disease endemic countries.