Preclinical Imaging Core Facility

Part of the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-vivo Imaging (SCI3)

As an expansion to the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-vivo Imaging (SCI3), the Preclinical Imaging Core at Porter Drive was established to support the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection. Its mission is to provide access to state-of-the-art and first-of-its-kind preclinical imaging instruments to facilitate the translation of research from in vitro tests to small animal investigations and clinical practice. This enables evaluation and advancement of novel imaging technologies and biological concepts in living murine models. Researchers are trained in the use of each of the imaging modalities available, and several facilities are located on the Stanford campus (at The James H. Clark Center, Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, Comparative Medicine Pavilion, and Shriram Center for Bioengineering & Chemical Engineering) to enable ease of access for scientists and their research animals.

The Preclinical Imaging Core provides access to a spectrum of imaging modalities, including instruments routinely found in hospitals but optimized for small animal work (such as ultrasound, MRI, CT, and PET), instruments developed specifically for small animal work (such as optical imaging), as well as new equipment that has just been developed (such as photoacoustic imaging). All instruments are designed to image living subjects and allow for repeated imaging, which reduces the number of animals that researchers need to use. The flexibility and rapid analyses of such animal models greatly accelerate the development of molecular imaging strategies. The facility also houses a dedicated surgical procedure room, a histology slide scanner that converts glass slides into digital slides using both brightfield and fluorescence, and several advanced image analysis workstations.

The Preclinical Imaging Core operates as a Stanford School of Medicine Service Center and is supported by the Canary Center at Stanford, the Stanford Cancer Institute, as well as user fees. It is operated by the Departments of Radiology and Pediatrics. Edwin Chang is the director of the Preclinical Imaging Core at Porter Drive and Dr. Heike Daldrup-Link oversees the entire Stanford Center for Innovation in In-vivo Imaging (SCI3).

Access to the imaging facility is restricted to the authorized users only. Contact Edwin Chang for more information about how to obtain access to the facility and get hands on training or other services. As a service center the imaging facility will collect fees from users based on the Stanford shared resource model. Faculty who are interested in joining the facility should contact Frezghi Habte for more information.


Edwin Chang

Director, Preclinical Imaging Core Facility

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