The goal of this application is to expand our interdisciplinary small animal imaging program to include complementary imaging capabilities that will increase our understanding of cancer. MR-based functional and metabolic imaging is the backbone of our current effort, which has been formalized into the Johns Hopkins pre-ICMIC. We now intend to balance that effort with a program that incorporates a strong nuclear imaging component. We intend to obtain a dedicated small animal PET device and undertake the development of a biplane x-ray/gamma scintigraphy system that will enable us to study a wider array of physiologic processes. We are also initiating a collaboration to enhance our optical imaging potential. We intend to focus on three broad areas relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer: new technology development, including drug development, in-depth analysis of the tumor microenvironment, and quantification of gene expression, primarily in cells and tissues expressing the malignant phenotype. We will pursue these aims by coordinating efforts in 3 core resource facilities: (I) technology development, (II) molecular biology and (III) chemistry, all of which will support the central imaging core. A quantitative subcore will also support the imaging core. Among the 12 base grants are one center grant (the pre-ICMIC) and 3 program project grants, all of which address important questions in cancer biology and/or therapy and will be greatly enhanced by an imaging component. The combined expertise of Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the University of Virginia and the NIH will create an SAIRP with strong molecular imaging capabilities accessible to researchers in the Mid-Atlantic region.
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