Core B: Neuroimaging Core

Project Summary – Neuroimaging Core – Core B
The Neuroimaging Core will provide UC Davis CounterACT Center investigators with outstanding resources in
the rapidly evolving field of neuroimaging technologies, for which there is strong demand by all three scientific
Projects. Neuroimaging tools provide one of the best modern means for examining the pathophysiology of
disorders that affect the brain. Center investigators have previously shown the benefits of neuroimaging
technologies for evaluating the short- and long-term consequences of acute organophosphate intoxication on
the brain and identifying effective therapeutic strategies that mitigate the resulting neuropathology. The
Neuroimaging Core will capitalize on these previous successes and provide state-of-the-art equipment for
neuroimaging spanning microscopic to whole brain in vivo imaging, and dedicated expertise in image acquisition,
analysis and the development and validation of imaging biomarkers to support the scientific Projects. The
neuroimaging resources provided will include modalities focused on structural neuroimaging, such as magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography (CT), functional and molecular imaging, such as MRI
and positron emission tomography (PET), and correlative cellular high-content brightfield and fluorescence tissue
imaging. Oversight and management of the Neuroimaging Core will be provided by Core Lead, Abhijit Chaudhari,
PhD, Professor of Radiology and the Director of the UC Davis Center for Molecular and Genomic Imaging
(CMGI), with over 15 years of experience in animal and human imaging with various imaging modalities,
quantitative imaging science, imaging biomarker design and validation and medical image processing; and Core
Co-Lead, Brad Hobson, PhD, Research Scientist at the CMGI, who has extensive training in neurotoxicology,
pharmacology and the validation of ex vivo and in vivo neuroimaging methods in the context of organophosphate
exposure. The objectives of the Neuroimaging Core are to: (1) provide Center investigators with access to a
wide array of neuroimaging technologies ranging from cellular imaging to macroscopic in vivo structural,
functional, and molecular imaging in pursuit of the scientific aims of the Projects; (2) develop and deploy
advanced imaging technologies that will enhance Center investigators’ research endeavors.; and (3) contribute
to the research education mission of the Center by providing virtual and hands-on training in the utilization of
imaging methods, data acquisition, and image analysis. By providing neuroimaging expertise, the Core will
ensure that imaging studies by the UC Davis Center investigators are designed, implemented, and analyzed
rigorously to ensure transparency, reproducibility and future translatability to humans.

Grant Number: 5U54NS127758-04
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Abhijit Chaudhari