Programmatic Initiatives

• Endowed Chairs and Fellowships
• Honors Initiatives
• Imaging Programs
• International Initiatives
• Nanotechnology
• Personalized Medicine
• Scholarship Campaign
• Science Initiatives

Imaging Programs

Building on existing strengths, the University of Utah is emerging as a leader in the field of imaging. With support from the state-funded Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR), the University is actively recruiting the world’s leading scientists in imaging technologies, diagnostic imaging, image analysis, and nanoscale and biomedical photonic imaging.

The range of research is exhilarating, including among others:

• Advanced imaging software solutions to assist in the early intervention of mental illness and image based methods to simplify diagnosis.
• Development of new treatments for drug dependence, better disease classification and psychiatric disorders in adolescents.
• Nonlinear imaging techniques that support spatial scales too fine to be observed under conventional light microscopy.

Human diseases invariably involve malfunction at the neural or cellular level to small to be rendered by conventional imaging techniques. Technical advances will allow researchers to break through what were once believed to be insurmountable barriers in resolution, leading to discoveries that will offer help and hope to the patients and families struggling with a variety of diseases.

The University of Utah is well positioned to be a world leader in imaging research. With and emphasis on technology commercialization, the goal is to accelerate research that produce tools for use in the clinical setting. The development of a state of the art microscopy suite in the new James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building – a USTAR Innovation Center, will significantly add to the U’s research capabilities.

The following core facilities housed in the building will serve the entire university:

• 7-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound
• Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET-CT)
• Micro-PET (PET technology optimized for small organisms)
• Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography coupled with CT
• Fluoroscopy

Optical Imaging

The optical imaging core will house high-performance microscopes including:

• Scanning electron microscopes (SEM)
• Transmission electron microscopes (TEM)
• Confocal microscopes: Laser scanning, spinning disc and programmable array
• Fast-acquisition microscopes

For more information about how you can support Imaging programs at the University of Utah, please contact Marilyn Davies at (801) 581-7194 or mdavies@coe.utah.edu.