Diagnostic Imaging
New diagnostic technologies, such as molecular imaging and optical methods, is driving a convergence of the disciplines of pathology and radiology for diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic monitoring. Successful clinical application of these new imaging technologies will require a new set of skills and expertise that overlaps those of both disciplines.
We are leading the future of diagnostic medicine by linking the specialties of pathology and radiology with related disciplines, including biomedical engineering, physics, and others. Our goal is to influence this changing paradigm, enable the most cutting edge research and clinical care, and prepare students, residents, and practicing physicians to use the tools that will emerge in the future.
UC Davis' excellent schools and colleges, in addition to the strength of the UC Davis Health System, provide a collaborative,multi-disciplinary framework for research and education in diagnostic imaging. These include:
Dept. of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (School of Medicine)
- Strong basic science research faculty with established complementary research programs and core services in proteomics, biomarker development and testing, biorepositories, and informatics.
- Broad subspecialty clinical expertise in anatomic pathology, including in-house organ system experts, to support clinical correlation and development of clinical applications.
- Clinical molecular diagnostics laboratory
- Multiple established collaborations with investigators at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the departments and centers listed below.
- Biophotonics faculty members with primary appointments in Pathology:
- Sebastian Wachsmann-Hogiu, Ph.D.
- James Chan, Ph.D.
- Clinical and research faculty with imaging collaborations:
Department of Radiology (School of Medicine)
- Broad subspecialty expertise in diagnostic and interventional radiology, including all clinical imaging modalities, to comparative effectiveness with current methods.
- Established fellowship in Oncologic Imaging & Image-Guided Cancer Therapeutics
- Faculty in Radiology Physics with joint appointments and research collaborations in Department of Bioengineering (School of Engineering) in addition to multiple collaborations with established with investigators.
- John Boone, Ph.D.
- Ramsey Badawi, Ph.D.
- J. Anthony Seibert, Ph.D.
Department of Bioengineering (School of Engineering)
- Strong established program in biomedical imaging which include many faculty joint appointments and collaborations with School of Medicine research programs in the following areas:
- New tools for breast imaging (ultrasound, CT, PET)
- In vivo molecular imaging for phenotyping, drug development and validation.
- Vascular imaging employing microbubbles to evaluate perfusion and velocity
- Bioinformatics and computational bioengineering, including a service core.
- Faculty with imaging collaborations with the School of Medicine
- Simon Cherry, Ph.D.
- Laura Marcu, Ph.D.
- Julie Sutcliffe, Ph.D.
Center for Biophotonics (CBST )
- Funded by the National Science Foundation and the only such center nationally that focuses on the application of light to study the cells and human tissues.
- Bioimaging is well-established as a research focus area with many collaborations with UC Davis departments and faculty. These include:
- Real-time, spectroscopic characterization of tissues in vivo using Raman spectroscopy.
- X-ray lasers to enable diffraction imaging of single biomolecules.
- New gene-based optical labels for fluorescence imaging,
- "Structured" illumination to achieve new levels of resolution with light microscopy.
UC Davis Cancer Center
- The only NCI-designated cancer center in inland Northern California.
- Cancer imaging as a strategic focus area: Biomedical Technologies Program A unique and successful cancer-care network that enables patients to be cared for in their own communities while benefitting from the consultative expertise of UC Davis specialists. This includes telemedicine components with potential research and educational opportunities for a multi-disciplinary imaging program.
- New outreach manager who can pursue contacts with industry for clinical trials and beta-testing.
