ANIMAL IMAGING SHARED RESOURCE (Core-441) ABSTRACT Overview: The objective of the Animal Imaging Shared Resource (AISR) is to support cancer research by providing comprehensive high-end imaging services, validation of novel contrast agents, collaboration and training in animal imaging, study design, quantitative image analysis and translation of imaging technologies to human clinical trials. The AISR was created in collaboration with and is jointly supported by the University of Colorado NIH funded CTSA (Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institutes (CCTSI)). Equipment: The AISR has a Bruker 4.7 Tesla MRI/MRS scanner, an IVIS200 bioluminescence imager, and a Siemens Inveon microPET/CT. In the past five years, all acquisition and post-processing imaging software for each scanner has been upgraded. A new PET/CT suite has also been built to accommodate 18F- and, especially, long half-life radioisotope (64Cu, 124I) studies. In addition, the AISR has multiple high-resolution Bruker NMR spectrometers (300, 400, 500 MHz) for ex vivo discovery of novel metabolic biomarkers and potential translation into metabolic imaging protocols. Services: The AISR offers full animal imaging services, including study design assistance, IACUC approvals (all imaging SOPs are in place), handling of animals during acquisition, image acquisition and multimodal image analysis, as well as preparation of grant proposals, study reports and publications. In addition to anatomical imaging protocols, the AISR has established and validated various advanced imaging protocols (both pre-clinical and translational) for tumor physiology and microenvironment such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), vessel-size imaging (VSI), iron oxide nanoparticle T2-MRI, and 18F-fluoroestradiol FES-PET. Consultation and Education: The AISR offers advanced imaging, image analysis and metabolomics courses and workshops for faculty, students and staff 2-3 times per year. Management: The AISR is an institutional shared resource managed by the UCCC. CCSG funding represents 27% of the current annual operating budget. The remaining support comes from the CCTSI grant (10%), institutional support (12%) and user fees (51%). AISR is overseen by the UCCC Associate Director for Translational Research. Use of Services: Since July 2011, 123 investigators have used the services. Fifty-four percent of users were UCCC members, representing all 6 Programs and resulting in 72 peer-reviewed publications. Future Plans: A new animal SPECT/CT scanner (Mediso) will be installed in 2016. A coil and hardware upgrade of the existing 4.7 Tesla MRI scanner and a purchase of a new 9.4 Tesla Bruker BioSpec MRI scanner will take place in 2016-2018. A new optical bioluminescence/ fluorescence scanner will also be added in 2016-2018. Purchase of a new imaging-guided (CT) X-ray irradiator is currently under negotiation. AISR will play an important role in Advancing Cancer Immunotherapy, one of the 6 cross-cutting strategic research initiatives in the Director's Overview (Part III).
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