Translational Molecular Imaging

Introduction

Prof David Lewis

Head of Translational Molecular Imaging Facility

david.lewis@glasgow.ac.uk

The Translational Molecular Imaging (TMI) centre, headed by Prof David Lewis, advances novel imaging technologies and acts as a shared resource for Scotland Institute and Glasgow Cancer Centre researchers serving as a hub for emerging imaging research and technology.

The TMI operates over two sites: the CRUK Scotland Institute at the Garscube campus and the West of Scotland PET Centre at Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. The state-of-the-art facilities and equipment include access to a GE cyclotron, dedicated research radiosynthesizers, a small-animal PET/MRI facility and two clinical GE Discovery Time-of-Flight PET/CT scanners. Within the TMI there is expertise in several key areas of imaging, which is further supported by a wide network of expert collaborators. The TMI drives collaborative imaging research across this network making the best available imaging technologies and expertise available to all preclinical and clinical researchers. The focus is on developing and applying innovative imaging technologies such as new PET radiotracers and MRI methodology, which can aid in the visualisation, measurement and understanding of cancer biology. The goal is to answer basic scientific questions and clinically translate novel imaging technology for improving the molecular diagnosis of cancer, a current area of unmet need.

Projects in the TMI range from standard imaging studies where access to technology is facilitated and users are guided in applications such as preclinical tumour screening and assessment of treatment response to much wider scale projects where the TMI acts as a collaborative partner in the production and validation of novel imaging agents, the development of novel pharmacodynamic biomarkers and in vivo molecular phenotyping. The unique opportunity at the Institute is to guide collaborative research using the world-class cancer models at the Institute and to use those models to develop clinical imaging biomarkers for novel applications such as improved tumour classification, patient stratification and personalised cancer therapy.

David Lewis also leads the Molecular Imaging research group.

Other funding:

Beatson Cancer Charity, Beatson Endowment

Lab Report

pdf Translationale Molecular Imaging Lab Report(83 KB)

Key Publications

Witney TH, Lewis DY. Imaging Cancer Metabolism with Positron Emission Tomography (PET). 2019; Cancer Metabolism - Springer

Gonzalez PS, O'Prey J, Cardaci S, Barthet VJA, Sakamaki JI, Beaumatin F, Roseweir A, Gay DM, Mackay G, Malviya G, Kania E, Ritchie S, Baudot AD, Zunino B, Mrowinska A, et al. Mannose impairs tumour growth and enhances chemotherapy. Nature 2018; 563: 719-23

Zmuda F, Blair A, Liuzzi M, Malviya G, Chalmers AJ, Lewis D, Sutherland A, Pimlott SL. An 18F-labeled poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase positron emission tomography imaging agent. J Med Chem 2018; 61: 4103-14.

Morran DC, Wu J, Jamieson NB, Mrowinska A, Kalna G, Karim SA, Au AY, Scarlett CJ, Chang DK, Pajak MZ; Australian Pancreatic Cancer Genome Initiative (APGI), Oien KA, McKay CJ, Carter CR, Gillen G, Champion S, Pimlott SL, Anderson KI, Evans TR, Grimmond SM, Biankin AV, Sansom OJ, Morton JP. Targeting mTOR dependency in pancreatic cancer. Gut. 2014;63(9):1481-9.

Rosenfeldt MT, O'Prey J, Morton JP, Nixon C, MacKay G, Mrowinska A, Au A, Rai TS, Zheng L, Ridgway R, Adams PD, Anderson KI, Gottlieb E, Sansom OJ, Ryan KM. p53 status determines the role of autophagy in pancreatic tumour development. Nature. 2013;504(7479):296-300.