What we do

We are involved in the discovery, development and application of imaging methods, mainly positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound (US) for clinical studies of cancer biology, physiology and pharmacology, as well as experimental studies of tumour models. Our aim is to develop methods that will make a significant impact on patient care in the short to medium term; and in the long term train the next generation of imaging scientists.

Why it is important

Our research aims to detect cancer and cancer phenotypes quicker and in a more sensitive way, as well as stratify patients more effectively to therapy, particularly in the context of drug development. The very rapid changes in molecular targets and pathways associated with anti-cancer treatment, evident in days rather than weeks, means that we can in the future detect response to therapy much earlier than current clinical standards of radiological shrinkage. Understanding disease biology in different tumour types will ultimately permit personalised medicine to be delivered to patients in the form of ‘theranostics’ (detect-and-treat).

How it can benefit patients

Our work helps in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer.

Summary of current research

• Imaging of therapy response - development and application of caspase-3 and nucleoside salvage markers
• Imaging of cell surface receptors and theranostic (detect & treat) applications - EGFR, SSTR2, HER2, CXCR4
• Imaging cancer metabolism - fatty acid oxidation, glycogenesis, choline and nucleoside metabolism
• Novel radiochemistry & radiotracer discovery and translational research
• Radiomics and machine learning for cancer detection and prognosis.
• Cancer pharmacology - choline kinase and HDAC6

Our researchers

Cancer Imaging Research Group