EMIDS 2014

EMIDS logo

General information

Title The breakthrough of Molecular Imaging in the field of the future in vivo diagnostic procedures
Date 10-12/9/2014
Duration 3 days
Number of ECTS 1
Location University of Torino, Molecular Imaging Center - Via Nizza 52 - 10126 - Torino - Italy
Flyer EMIDS flyer.pdf

Summary

Molecular imaging is a rapidly emerging biomedical research discipline which allows the visual representation, characterization, and quantification of biological processes at the cellular and subcellular levels within intact living organisms. The term �molecular imaging� implies the convergence of multiple image-capture techniques, basic cell/molecular biology, chemistry, medicine, pharmacology, medical physics, biomathematics, and bioinformatics into a new imaging paradigm.
The purpose of the proposed Workshop is to show how different imaging modalities, coupled with tailored imaging probes able to recognize specific pathologic markers, allow the visualization and quantification of disease evolution and the evaluation of therapy response. Several imaging modalities (MRI, PET/SPECT, Optical Imaging) will be showed together with their main applications in tumor diagnosis, monitoring of therapeutic treatment and cardiovascular and liver diseases.
The target group of this workshop is students who are interested in this new field, or who are already working on, both from local institutions and from other European countries. The main target groups are undergraduate students (MSc) and PhD students coming from different curricula (chemistry, biology, biotechnology, physics and medicine). The students will be selected based on their CV and motivation letter by each partner, adopting a uniform standard, based on three main aspects: i) affinity with the student curricula, ii) knowledge and involvement in the molecular imaging field, iii) current master or doctoral thesis related to this field.
The backbone of this workshop is based on lectures and practical demonstrations implemented by the researchers of the Molecular Imaging Center of the University of Torino and of some national industries, together with other international ESMI partners. Experiments will be carried out exploiting the facility of the Molecular Imaging Center, including imaging probe preparations and animal models, imaging using small-animal dedicated low and high-field MRI scanner, as well as imaging analysis.
The major output of the project will be the implementation of an up-to-date training on the use of imaging probes for imaging disease. Students following this workshop will get an up-to-date knowledge of the imaging visualization and therapy evaluation, with a focus on the translation from pre-clinical level to the clinical settings. This will be possible also for those students from European partner institutions that could not have access to such a course because of the lack of research and teaching expertise in this field across Europe.
All the students will be exposed to a European dimension, and the major innovation of this workshop is to combine multidisciplinary expertises, which are not found inside a single institution.

Methodology

The workshop will provide theoretical knowledge and practical-experimental training as well as procedures and protocols by means of lectures which will be provided by scientists of the coordinating institution and other partners. These lecturers will provide the core concepts that will be expanded in the training sessions, allowing an intense collaboration between teachers and students. All the lectures will have a short basics introduction in order to level off the lecture considering the different background of the students. The ratio between students and teachers will be of 4:3, allowing a strong communication and cooperation among them. The teachers have been selected according to their distinctive expertise to cover the workshop topics, with a fine mix between senior and junior teachers, setting up both a professional and informal environment, encouraging a two-way communication among students and teachers. To assess if the students achieve the intended learning outcomes, a written examination will take place at the end of the workshop, with a number of multiple-choice questions, including an assessment of their attitude, implication and performance during the practical sessions.

Work programme

DayProgram of the lectures and other activities
Sept. 10
Sept. 11
Sept. 12
  • 9h00-10h30: Cell labeling (Simonetta Geninatti - University of Torino, practical session)
  • 10h30-12h00: CEST experiment (Giuseppe Ferrauto - University of Torino, practical session)
  • 12h00-12h30: Coffee break
  • 12h30-14h00: Hyperpolarized experiment (Francesca Reineri - University of Torino, practical session)
  • 14h00-15h00: Lunch time
  • 15h00-17h00: Final consideration and remarks - Final student assessment

Registration

For more information and registration you can send an email to paola.bardini@unito.it