A fundamental requirement for modern cell biology research is the ability to visualise, with high resolution and sensitivity, the localisation of proteins and structures within living cells. Over the past decade rapid advances in digital imaging and microscopy technologies, allied to the development of photoactivatable fluorescent proteins, has revolutionised the capacity to undertake such studies. These advances have led to new insights into the highly dynamic nature of molecular and biochemical processes occurring within living cells. Indeed, the visualisation and quantitation of proteins (often resolved to the level of a single molecule), in both a spatial and temporally resolved manner, is increasingly viewed as indispensable in cell biology studies. As a result of successful funding under two previous REI bids, we have created , a DeltaVision RT microscope facility within the Department of Biological Sciences at Lancaster University that provides essential bioimaging support to six research laboratories. The research projects undertaken in this facility are firmly within the BBSRC's remit and strategic priorities and many of the principal investigators involved have an established track record of attracting BBSRC funding. However, this DeltaVision RT imaging system is aging and so we are requesting funds to upgrade this microscope facility to a DeltaVision CORE imaging system (Applied Precision). Through a combination of improved software, optics and hardware this new system will deliver significant advances to our bioimaging capabilities and help to maintain our research competitiveness.

The United Kingdom has a strong history of having developed imaging techniques and technologies that allow us to visualize a range of biomedical phenomena, from being able to visualise molecules inside individual cells, to being able to take pictures non invasively inside patients. Examples of this include the pioneering work done by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of the Computed Tomography scanner), and Sir Peter Mansfield of Nottingham University (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of magnetic resonance imaging). A recent report from two of the UK Research Councils showed that the UK still has a world-leading research profile in this area, but also showed that there was a shortage of trained UK individuals who are experts in medical imaging. This means that our research institutions and industries struggle to employ suitably qualified individuals, and either have to employ non-UK nationals or cannot undertake the work they wish to. The aim of this Centre for Doctoral Training is therefore to address the need for more trained imaging scientists by linking together two of the UK's top research-intensive universities to deliver a rigorous training programme in this area. In particular, and in response to the needs expressed both by our industry colleagues and by our NHS colleagues, we will put in place a doctoral training programme that gives students an understanding of the full landscape of medical imaging (e.g. different types of imaging, different scales of imaging from cellular imaging up to whole human imaging, and different ways of analyzing the resulting images). Since these will mostly be students with a background in the physical sciences (physics, engineering and mathematics) we will also provide them with a training in the basic biology of cells, and in the range of diseases in which medical imaging can make a difference. Following a first year of training the students will work in specialist research laboratories in Oxford and Nottingham (with some students working between the two institutions). Both universities have world-renowned scientists and excellent facilities to host research projects for the students, culminating in each student receiving a doctoral degree from either Nottingham or Oxford. The range of research and opportunities available to these students is very large, with researchers in both institutions working at all scales of medical imaging (single cells to whole humans), and on various diseases, including cancer, brain disorders, and heart disorders. As major partners we will work with colleagues from industry so that our students gain experience in working in an industry environment, and so that some of the projects they work on are ones that are proposed by industry. This partnership will also help us produce trained experts who have an appreciation for the way that industry operates, and an understanding of how research ideas can be commercialized so that they become a source of income to the nation. We believe that by having a rigorous doctoral training programme like this we will ensure that the UK is well placed to compete academically and industrially in the future. We also believe that there will be benefits to the NHS, since our graduates will develop imaging techniques that will refine the way the NHS treats us, thus saving money and making the treatments that we receive more relevant to us as individuals.