Description

The Molecular Imaging, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics Program (MIDT) has evolved over the past several years to focus on the strengths of its members in molecular biology, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The expertise of its 39 members, in 11 different departments from the colleges of Science, Pharmacy, Medicine, and Engineering, encompasses target identification and validation; discovery, development and identification of targeted therapeutics and diagnostics; molecular imaging and diagnostics, and clinical trials. MIDT fosters communication between basic scientists and physicians, with the goal of identifying specific molecular pathways that have immediate diagnostic and therapeutic relevance for clinical trials.

MIDT is a multi-dimensional program that maximizes the strengths of the University in genetics, pharmaceutics, and imaging. We bridge the continuum from cellular target and pathway discovery and validation; drug and diagnostics discovery and delivery systems; and pre-clinical testing to the eventual conduct of early phase clinical trials. There is strength in using molecular imaging to facilitate this entire process. Several members are involved in the evaluation of both therapeutic and imaging protocols in clinical patients as they relate to novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies for early response assessments. These new approaches to the integration of genetic profiling, molecular imaging characterization, and the use of targeted therapies based on relevant findings will make the MIDT program a future leader in "personalized medicine."

MIDT is organized in five main divisions:

• Target Discovery and Validation
• Mechanisms of Therapeutics and Drug Screening
• Pre-clinical Tumor Models
• Molecular Imaging and Diagnostics
• Clinical Trials

Many important collaborations occur from the overlap between divisions, with imaging and imaging-guided therapy at the intersection of these divisions. The Target Discovery and Validation and Mechanisms of Therapeutics and Drug Screening divisions include interest groups in signal transduction modifiers, epigenetic factors in cancer, and novel diagnostic and therapeutic uses of tissue engineering.

MIDT holds quarterly thematically focused brainstorming meetings aimed at discovering new opportunities for collaboration.

The Molecular Imaging, Diagnostics and Therapeutics Program currently receives approximately $12,641,934 per year of direct, and $17,283,677 of total research support from the NCI, other NIH institutes, the American Cancer Society and other funding agencies.  Cancer focused articles published in 2007 total 147 including 18 inter-programmatic and 8 intra-programmatic publications.

David Jones, PhD
Co-leader

John Hoffman, MD
Co-leader

Members