A preclinical magnetic resonance imaging system for neurology and oncology. (360G-Wellcome-108454_Z_15_Z)

This application is for a high-field (9.4T), preclinical MRI scanner. The key objective of the proposal is to increase the capacity for preclinical MRI at UCL, in order to support a research programme focussing on excellence in neuroscience and oncology. Currently, access to preclinical MRI at the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) is limited to a single scanner, which was funded in 2008 by the British Heart Foundation to develop cardiac imaging. This system is used at full cap acity and is typically booked up to three months in advance. Many requests that the Centre receives for collaborative research cannot currently be facilitated, despite their potential for scientific excellence and for generating novel, highly impacting results, or must be tailored to the constraints of the currently available infrastructure. If funded, this proposal would enable cutting-edge research projects (including research into neurodegeneration, optogenetics and non-invasive tumour his topathlogy) to be undertaken robustly and without compromise. Several of the projects outlined in this application have elements of 'blue-skies' research that are highly novel and could generate data that is impacting, important and could provide benefit across numerous disciplines.