Center for Biomedical Imaging in Oncology

Director: Annick Van den Abbeele, MD

The mission of the Center for Biomedical Imaging in Oncology, directed by Annick Van den Abbeele, MD, is to use state-of-the-art preclinical and clinical imaging in order to accelerate translational research and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer. The Center has two primary components: the Lurie Family Imaging Center and a clinical research program.

The Lurie Family Imaging Center is a preclinical imaging facility equipped with a 7T MRI, microPET/CT, ultrasound, bioluminescence, and fluorescence imaging instruments, along with radiochemistry and radiotherapy capabilities. All instruments are located within a new barrier facility to allow longitudinal and cross-modality studies. This permits researchers to perform preclinical cancer biology and drug efficacy studies, incorporating highly informative noninvasive imaging endpoints.

The Center's clinical research program focuses on the development and utilization of imaging for the detection of cancer and evaluation of response to treatment. The program has an Imaging Design, Evaluation, and Analysis (IDEA) lab, a multidisciplinary functional imaging laboratory that provides study design, imaging protocol development, PET/CT scanner evaluation and qualification, quality control/archival of imaging data, diagnostic review of images, quantitative image analysis, and scientific interpretation of final imaging results for numerous institutional, national, and global multicenter cancer therapeutic trials.

The Center has created a cancer imaging program with seamless integration between preclinical and clinical imaging and across all imaging modalities. In light of the expanding role of imaging in both basic and clinical cancer research, the Center provides a critical bridge that facilitates bidirectional translation across the Institute.