Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research
The Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research (UCAIR) is a division of the Department of Radiology at the University of Utah. Our aim is to be a center of excellence and innovation for medical imaging research.
Investigators from around the world are here to develop new techniques in X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), and Ultrasound imaging.
The goal of UCAIR research is to develop novel imaging solutions to important medical problems. UCAIR scientists are developing new imaging technology, improvements to existing technologies, and novel ways to use images to solve problems in vascular disease, heart disease, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Research: We want the results of our research to provide physicians - the surgeon, the oncologist, the radiologist, the cardiologist - with clearer images and more useful information so they may assess the state of their patient more accurately and provide the most appropriate medical care.
Collaborations: We want our collaborators to have the best possible imaging hardware and techniques to address the wide range of exciting research at the University of Utah.
Education: We want our students to become successful scientists and engineers and become strong contributors in medical imaging research or industry.
UCAIR is located in Research Park in the Center for Advanced Medical Imaging (CAMT) at 729 Arapeen Drive, Salt Lake City Utah 84108.
Phone: 801-585-1145
FAX: 801-585-3592
Foreign language speakers may wish to contact specific UCAIR members. Please see UCAIR People.
WHY HAVE AN IMAGING CENTER?
The University of Utah, through the generosity of the Huntsman family, the Eccles family, the Cumming family, and other donors has made an enormous investment in biomedical research. The Eccles Human Genetics Research Building houses the Department of Human Genetics, the Human Molecular Biology and Genetics Program, the Genetic Science Learning Center, and the Utah Genome Depot. The nearby Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) houses 52 investigators, a patient care center, family cancer assessment clinic, sarcoma service, a cancer center for children, support groups, the cancer registry and more. Adjacent to the research building a new 230,000 square foot cancer hospital (Phase II) opened in summer of 2004; it houses 50 patient beds and state-of-the-art cancer detection and therapy units. The Cumming family has provided one of the most advanced high field MRI scanners for research at the University of Utah. These institutes and facilities support and complement the efforts of the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, the regional center for medical research, and the Neuroscience Institute in Research Park.
This conglomeration of research and clinical facilities has created a demand for leading-edge imaging technologies. The Department of Radiology has formed UCAIR to meet the challenge. Applications of imaging technologies include imaging of diseased vasculature and neural tissues, assessment of cardiac function, tumor detection and characterization, visualization of anatomy, studies of brain and other tissue metabolic activities, drug pharmacokinetics and more. Such studies may be made in both the patient and experimental animals. The major benefit of non-invasive imaging is that it may be undertaken without injury to the patient or sacrifice of the animal subject. For the patient, this means little or no discomfort, less time spent in the clinic or recovery, and lower overall cost. For the hospital, non-invasive imaging means higher patient turnover, plus greater diagnostic accuracy. But perhaps no-one benefits more than the experimental animal. Non-invasive imaging means assays (of drug pharmacokinetcs, tissue function, etc) may be completed in the same animal as a function of time, replacing the requirement to sacrifice large cohorts of animals to obtain the same information, while increasing the statistical significance of the observations made.
ADMINISTRATION
UCAIR is administratively within the University of Utah Department of Radiology. The Center, composed of faculty from both inside and outside of the Radiology Department, supports and provides access to high end imaging facilities to scientists throughout the university campus. UCAIR is an outgrowth of, and builds upon the success of, the Medical Imaging Research Laboratory (MIRL).
ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION (Figure 1)
Chairman of Radiology, Edwin A. Stevens, M.D.
UCAIR Director, Dennis L. Parker, Ph.D.
UCAIR Medical Director, John M. Hoffman, M.D.
UCAIR Executive Committee:
Dennis L. Parker, Ph.D.
John M. Hoffman, M.D.
Edward V. R. Di Bella, Ph.D.
The Director, Medical Director and Executive Committee oversee the center operations.
Grants Manager: Terrie Parker
Computer Systems Administrator, Andrew Liimatta
Proposal Writer: Roy Rowley, Ph.D.