The mission of the Preclinical Imaging Core Facility is to support sustainable and responsive multimodality imaging in preclinical oncology models for UAB University and Medical Center investigators through advanced preclinical imaging acquisition and analysis. The facility provides a multimodality imaging approach to provide a molecular understanding of disease processes in animal models, allows for therapeutic assessment of response, supports the development of novel imaging contrast agents, and facilitates translational preclinical imaging studies precluding clinical trials. To facilitate those goals, we have a team of four faculty scientists (Director, three Technical Associate Directors) whose expertise range from ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), nuclear imaging, including positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and optical imaging.

The team routinely collaborates with imaging scientists and non-imaging scientists to help design experiments and enable preclinical imaging in many animal models. To enable imaging data acquisition, we have a staff of professionals, including an associate core director with over 20 years of preclinical imaging experience, two staff scientists, two staff researchers, and a program manager. Along with experimental design and acquisition, the facility also offers data analysis and image processing and secondary biological studies (associated with imaging) such as radioactive biodistributions of animal models. Importantly, many of the technologies applied are similarly applied in UAB clinical trials. The Director of the Preclinical Imaging Core (Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering) has a research program centered around preclinical imaging in oncology as well as a role in translational clinical research, including clinical trials utilizing imaging, therefore will be involved in ensuring the evolution of new techniques is available in the preclinical imaging core facility.

The Small Animal Imaging Facility is supported by the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and the O’Brien Center for Acute Kidney Injury Research.