The main objectives of the Training and Dissemination Core are to: 1) Training- Offer a robust training program to the PET community at large to facilitate the use of radiotracers developed by the Technology Research and Development (TR&D) projects as well as already available at Washington University (WU) and the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) and their application in biomedical research and; 2) Dissemination -To inform the scientific community about the capabilities and accomplishments of the PET Radiotracer Translation and Resource Center (PET-RTRC) and to promote and enable broader use of Center products. To achieve these objectives we will address the following Specific Aims. Training Aim 1: Workshops. To provide an important training experience by organizing workshops in the field of PET imaging and radiochemistry with short-lived radionuclides such as 18F and non-standard radionuclides such as 64Cu for pre-clinical use and clinical translation. These workshops will expand the educational and collaborative opportunities for radiochemists, basic scientists and clinician-scientists to improve future applications within the NIH funding mechanisms.
Aim 2 : Individualized training. To provide the requisite training for visiting radiochemists and basic and clinician scientists in order to ensure that they can conduct the necessary radiosynthesis, quality assurance testing, and documentation needed when translating a radiotracer into the clinic. Dissemination Aim 1: Website. Establish and maintain a website which provides detailed information of the goals, accomplishments, and resources available from the PET-RTRC to the broad scale scientific community. Our Radiotracer Resource Center web site (www.radiotracer.wustl.edu) will be linked to the NIBIB webpage listing P41 Resource Centers and will serve as the primary means for providing up-to-date information on the resources the PET-RTRC.
Aim 2 : Scientific Outreach. We will pursue numerous strategies to increase scientific outreach and visibility for the Center including publication of a newsletter, interactions at scientific meetings of imagers and other potential users, organize workshops described above and vigorous use of social media. By pursuing these strategies will ensure the PET-RTRC can meet its training and dissemination goals.
