Kinetic Modelling and Analysis of Total-Body PET Imaging Datasets
Award Imaging Scientist
Funding Cycle Cycle 2
Investigator
Adriana Tavares, PhD
The University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh Preclinical Imaging)
Bio
Dr. Tavares is a Senior Research Fellow in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging and Head of the Preclinical PET Facility at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her group works on developing new imaging tools to study how human diseases develop and progress and to measure the efficacy of new disease treatments. She has over 70 peer reviewed publications and routinely shares her research findings at local, national, and international events. Since 2014, Dr. Tavares has been a member of the molecular imaging committee of the Scottish Imaging Network: A Platform for Scientific Excellent (SINAPSE) and co-leads the preclinical sub-group of the recently formed UK PET Network. She is the founder of the PET is Wonderful meetings, focused on enhancing vitality and promoting visibility of PET research in Edinburgh, the UK, and globally.
Project Description
New technologies are allowing researchers to evaluate molecular changes in a living organism at the level of organs or in the whole body, transforming how they study disease development and progression and develop new treatments. A technique called Positron Emission Tomography, or PET, is a medical imaging technique capable of quantifying molecular changes in a living organism. This project aims to teach the next generation of imaging biologists what PET techniques are and how to use them to support their research. In addition, it aims to develop new methods for analysis of complex PET images to derive a whole-body “molecular fingerprint” unique to each individual. This technique aims to enable researchers and clinicians to map the distinct molecular signature of specific proteins across multiple organs inside the human body.