Acquisition of a PET/CT Imaging System for STEM Research and Education at Howard University
Abstract
There is a critical shortage of minority undergraduate students in STEM disciplines seeking and entering Ph.D. degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Thus, research engineering and scientific laboratories in most institutions lack qualified minority scientists to keep pace with cutting edge developments in the STEM fields. A successful effort to mitigate this lack of representation in minorities workforce would benefit from innovative approaches that stimulate the interests of undergraduate students in the field of STEM. Howard University (HU), which enrolls the largest population of African Americans and most other underrepresented minority students in undergraduate STEM disciplines, provides an outstanding environment to develop pipeline projects that start during undergraduate years and leads to the enhancement of diversity in STEM workforce at all levels. We propose the acquisition of Bruker Albira PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) system to enrich the experiences of HU students in chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering and biomedical sciences. The Bruker Albira PET/CT system will be a shared instrument, a complementary addition to the existing two MRI machines and an optical imaging machine in HU Imaging Core facility. The Albira PET/CT integrates the high sensitivity of PET with high resolution of low dose CT. It can produce high resolution structural images and quantitative images of physiochemical and biomedical processes. The Imaging Core MRI machines provide detailed anatomical images with super high resolution. However, the low chemical detection sensitivity of MRI makes the use of MRI machines challenging in studying the underlying mechanism of neurophysiology, the processes of targeted drug delivery and the molecular interactions between nanomaterials and bio-molecules. Optical imaging on the other hand has good chemical detection sensitivity but due to light scattering and absorption, the spatial resolution deep inside samples is poor. The combined PET and CT will not only offer high resolution images (5µm, CT spatial resolution) with deep sample penetration capability, but will provide an extremely high detection sensitivity of compounds in the samples (-I 0-11 M, PET detection sensitivity). This highly versatile system has the ability to integrate into our current biomedical, mechanical and physical research workflow for a wide-range of applications in science and engineering. The University has recently launched the newly built revolutionary Interdisciplinary Research Building to promote multidisciplinary research collaborations using advanced technology. The building houses about IO scientific and engineering laboratories, of which, a space for the PET/CT scanner has been designated. There are six projects that will use the proposed instrument. Each project assimilates with the mission of the DoD targeting key areas for applications in aerospace materials, neurophysiology of cognition and traumatic brain injury, carbon-based materials and reactive chemical system. Investigators and their student trainees will take advantage of the campus wide accessibility of an innovative and sophisticated PET/CT machine. We plan to utilize the proposed instrument to increase students awareness and interest in STEM and develop students engineering and scientific knowledge and research skills that will allow them to progress and translate to more advanced STEM related research education and training activities. The research and education opportunities will not only impact HU STEM students, but will enhance our long tradition of involvement in local high school STEM programs. In addition to the Howard researchers, the proposed PET/CT machine will also be available for researchers in neighboring institutions and other HBCUs through the RCMI Translational Research Network (RTRN), thereby strengthening existing collaborative relations and partnerships.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 07, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1710515
Entities
People
- Paul Wang
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Howard University
- Office of the Secretary of Defense