This Early Stage Research Training site will provide in a coherent and interrelated manner knowledge from four traditionally unrelated disciplines such as Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science combined and focused towards Molecular Imaging techniques. The early stage researchers will have the opportunity to use both commercially available instrumentation and state-of the art instrumentation under development for different applications such as gene expression profiling, determining protein function, elucidating cellular pathways or in sensing small-molecule protein–protein interaction both in cells and in whole organisms in-vivo. Amongst other things, the Fellow will have the opportunity to learn how to:
• Create his/her own personalized codes for image analysis and manipulation and data analysis.
• Derive basic equations that govern specific biological processes of interest, for example diffusion of molecules within the cell using photo-bleaching techniques.
• Understand and apply light propagation equations to predict and interpret optical measurements of fluorescence such as intensity distribution, life-time, emission and excitation spectra.
• Apply Tomography and Inverse Problems to in-vivo imaging of Fluorescent Proteins and tissue characterization.
• Use and understand the basics of laser-physics in order to be able to design personalized experimental setups involving imaging of linear and non-linear phenomena such as one and two-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation, Fluorescence life-time, Hyper-spectral imaging, etc.
• Apply the techniques mentioned above to specific biological questions, mainly gene-expression and elucidation of protein function.
Combined with this interdisciplinary training, basic training on animal handling, cell-loading, transgenic technologies, tissue manipulation and immunohistochemical techniques will be provided for those early-stage researchers with curricula traditionally not related to Life Sciences. In all cases, two levels of training will be considered, basic and advanced, in order to cover the full spectrum of possible applicants and to personalize training for each individual. Similarly, participation of students with career orientations that in some indirect manner involve knowledge on Molecular Imaging (such as, for example, a Graduate in Economics that wishes to work for a company that is interested or works on Molecular Imaging) will be encouraged.
Description
Due to the quickly emerging applications and demands for Molecular Imaging, many new research and academic centers all over the world are now focused on Molecular Imaging techniques and applications (for example, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Medical Research Council in the UK or the Center for Molecular Imaging Research in Harvard). To date most if not all of the training in Biology is oriented towards the end-user, offering basic training only on the use of commercially available instrumentation and software. With respect to other disciplines, such as Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, indeed few academic institutions offer Biology-oriented applications at an early stage. Combined in-situ interdisciplinary knowledge is not available from a single source as yet and in most cases students interested in gaining experience in one of the relevant sectors, must visit an isolated specialized center.
It is therefore clear that the need for such a training site is imperative, so that the field of Molecular Imaging reaches its full potential at the rate that the different societal needs demand, and to ensure its translation to Medical Applications takes place as soon as possible. The mono-site we propose combines four Institutes of renowned international expertise, all gathered under the same research center, the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH). The mono-site for Early Stage Training proposed will comprise:
• The Institute for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB)
• The Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL)
• The Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM)
• The Institute of Computer Science (ICS)
Since these centers are not only centrally administrated but also share the same location in the campus, collaborations between them have existed since their foundation. We believe that the establishment of an Early-Stage Training site will help to reinforce collaborations and bring inter-disciplinarity to a new level. The mono-site proposed will be devoted to the different aspects that surround and conform Molecular Imaging techniques. Main users of this site will not only be Biologists with the need to improve their skills on data and image analysis, modeling of biological processes and laser physics, but also students from disciplines traditionally unrelated to Biology who want to bridge the existing gap and learn novel applications in state of the art biology. The early-stage researchers will be offered the opportunity to be involved in state-of the art research and gain experience in different research areas in such a way that is coherently directed towards Molecular Imaging.
Original
and Innovative Aspects The main innovative aspect of the proposed training site is the fact that the main different disciplines and approaches related to Molecular Imaging coexist in the same campus. Taking advantage of this fact, this allows us to:
• Develop personalized training, depending on the needs and formation of each Fellow.
• Deliver inter and multi-disciplinary training oriented towards a specific field, i.e. Molecular Imaging.
• Overcome the barriers that traditionally existed between disciplines and consider each training component as part of a complete and multidisciplinary training program, and not as an integrating part of a certain discipline.
In this training site the Fellows will have the opportunity to develop and test personalized codes, new experimental setups and novel state-of-the-art imaging techniques in real biological situations, with great impact and application in the Molecular Imaging community and in the Life-Sciences in general. This will broaden the interests of researchers at an early stage and help them understand problems from a completely new perspective, therefore stimulating new approaches to solving questions that will definitely have a positive impact on the Molecular Imaging field in the near future.
Apart from offering an integration of techniques and know-how that is currently available throughout Europe, even if fragmented, we also have at FO.R.T.H. a novel 3D optical-tomographer for imaging in-vivo molecular function and gene expression in large animals such as mice. This prototype is one of a kind and the first built in Europe and is the result of a long-standing collaboration with Prof. V. Ntziachristos from Harvard University who developed the first prototype. The development and application of this 3D optical tomographer is supported by a recently obtained Integrated Project, “Integrated techniques for in-vivo Molecular Imaging”, that this mono-site coordinates, http://www.molimg.gr . The role of this Integrated Project and other related projects in the success of the proposed Early-Stage Training site is very important and will be mentioned in detail later.