Animal and Human Imaging Shared Resource

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CORE 002 – ANIMAL AND HUMAN IMAGING SHARED RESOURCE PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Animal and Human Imaging Shared Resource (AHISR) has been continuously supported by the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) since 2004. The AHISR provides scientific and technical assistance for experiments employing biomedical imaging for the study of cancer in both the pre-clinical and clinical settings and continues to undertake developments to meet ongoing needs. As in previous cycles, the AHISR remains a critical component of VICC’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) programs, with both recently renewed Breast and Gastrointestinal (GI) SPOREs having featured imaging components. In 2018, the AHISR was integral to landing a new NCI-funded co-clinical imaging trial resource (U24) focused on quantitative PET imaging of cancer metabolism with investigational radiopharmaceuticals. Furthermore, the AHISR expertise and capabilities have enabled a new partnership between VICC and GE Health Care (GEHC), where quantitative cancer imaging and radiopharmaceutical discovery are central pillar programs of a major precision oncology initiative. The faculty and staff within the AHISR provide access to state-of-the-art imaging facilities including advanced human MRI systems operating at 3T and 7T, a research-dedicated PET/CT, ultrasound scanner, and a comprehensive facility for multimodal animal imaging and research radiopharmaceuticals for animal and human use. Furthermore, the AHISR leverages the institutional resources within the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science (VUIIS) to develop new and improved methods for obtaining information that addresses research questions of direct cancer relevance. More specifically, the AHISR will provide: 1. Collaborations with expert imaging science faculty (in nuclear, optical, magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging) for the development and application of cutting-edge imaging protocols 2. Innovative and novel radiopharmaceuticals for animal and human imaging research 3. Support for imaging system operators and technical staff who will handle patient and animal preparation and monitoring as well as operate the instruments 4. Support for data analysis and for quantitative image analysis customized to specific applications including the co-registration and integration of multiple modalities, histology and proteomics. The AHISR brings together advanced equipment and diverse expertise into a comprehensive integrated resource that ensures the quality of the imaging data, and consequently, the overall quality, rigor, and reproducibility of the studies is the highest possible.