Molecular Imaging, Technology Development:
Simon Cherry’s research involves the rapidly growing field of molecular imaging. The basic concept behind molecular imaging is the use of non-invasive imaging technologies to visualize and characterize specific molecular events and targets in vivo. Areas of active research include the development of new and improved imaging technologies, the design of novel contrast agents and imaging probes and their application in molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. Professor Cherry and the members of his laboratory team are particularly interested in developing new technologies and techniques for in vivo molecular imaging. They focus on a nuclear imaging technique, positron emission tomography (PET), and its application in studying animal models of human disease. They are also exploring the integration of PET imaging technology with the highresolution anatomical imaging provided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or x-ray computed tomography (CT). The use of molecular imaging technologies for phenotyping and for the development and validation of new drugs and therapeutic approaches are among the applications they are pursuing. The research group has many active projects in the laboratory, ranging from the development of new detector technologies for imaging to the building of complete imaging systems for specific biological or medical applications. The research associated with these projects involves novel detector development; system simulation and design; the investigation of data acquisition and correction strategies; the study of three-dimensional image reconstruction algorithms; new software tools for the visualization, analysis, and quantification of imaging data; and the application of molecular imaging technologies to important problems in medicine and biology.
