Southwestern In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Program

 

   

Mission Statement

Recognizing the dramatic advances in imaging sciences, therapeutic options and molecular biology the National Cancer Institute proposed the establishment of centers to promote more efficient interactions related to oncology. This research program has been established to meet this goal with views to improving research efficiency, accelerating translation of new therapies and ultimately improving the quality of life for patients.

Main Objectives

The over-arching goal of the Southwest In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Cancer Imaging Program is to develop new procedures for non-invasively identifying cancer, predicting therapeutic efficacy, and assessing response to therapy. This will be achieved by integrating the resources, goals and experience of the lead investigators. Initial clinical investigations will correlate tumor oxygenation, pH, blood flow, and perfusion (assessed by Magnetic Resonance), and metabolic and mitotic activity (assessed by Positron Emission Tomography) with outcome in patients and/or research models. We foresee developments from the bench to the bedside and viewbox, with iterative loops to refine the utility of cancer imaging. In view of the major strengths of this Institution we have defined four major Research Areas, and selected six relevant Development Projects, as initial goals.  A primary aim is to facilitate greater interaction between imaging scientists, oncologists and molecular biologists to accelerate the development of novel therapies and improve patient care and cure. A planning grant from the National Cancer Institute supports this effort to establish the research infrastructure. It is a "Program Without Walls," and we welcome collaborators with new investigations.

The major research objectives are:

Increasingly there is evidence that physiological characteristics such as tumor oxygenation, pH and blood flow can interfere with therapeutic outcome. We will develop methods to assess these parameters non-invasively and determine the prognostic relevance.

1)  Prognostic Radiology - Development and evaluation of prognostic physiological molecular markers of response to therapy. In particular, we will examine response to various therapeutic interventions and assess the utility of initial physiological measurements to predict therapeutic outcome.

2)  Genetic Signatures - Development of non-invasive molecular markers to image disease progression. Chromosomal aberrations in tumor biopsies, as possible indicators of disease stage and progression. We will perform series of magnetic resonance and nuclear medicine investigations of patients prior to biopsy, in order to establish whether non-invasive investigations can reveal characteristics of tumors, and the potential reliability of such indices.

3)  Instrumentation and Assays - Development and application of non-invasive methods for assessing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of therapeutic interventions non-invasively. Many projects currently rely on histological assessment, and endpoints, to evaluate the efficacy of novel therapeutic interventions. The ability to non-invasively track the fate of drugs with respect to uptake, distribution, clearance and efficacy will facilitate more efficient and rapid screening of novel  agents and stimulate  faster optimization of these drugs. There is also a pressing need for non-invasive assays of gene transfection in terms of expression and temporal and spatial distribution. Novel approaches exploiting reporter molecules sensitive to gene reporters will be explored. The combination of commercial imaging equipment (MRI, PET, SPECT) together with devices developed "in-house" provides the possibility of applying multiple modalities and integrating information from these diverse techniques within a single laboratory.

4)  Molecules and Mechanics - Development and application of novel molecular and cellular tumor targeting strategies. Novel approaches to tumor selective targeting will be explored on the basis of agents using chemical biology and delivery based on a novel ultrasound method to stimulate release of therapeutic agents, such as genes/viruses within a tissue of interest.

 


For Further Information Contact: RALPH  P. MASON, Ph.D.
Page Maintained by: Lan Jiang, M.Sc.
Page Created by: Robert Bollinger II
Copyright ©2001 UT Southwestern
Last Updated:

Thursday, September 20, 2001