# In Vivo Imaging Facility

> **NIH NIH P30** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $252,303

## Abstract

Abstract: In Vivo Imaging Facility (IVIF) 
Advances in cancer management require the development of new therapies, and state-of-the-art imaging 
technologies are needed to assess response to those therapies. The Hillman Cancer Center (HCC) In Vivo 
Imaging Facility (IVIF) provides novel quantitative imaging techniques that trace biomarkers of molecular 
events and immunotherapy response associated with effective cancer therapy. Validation of advanced imaging 
techniques that are specific for relevant cellular processes are required to detect and measure the efficacy of 
novel anticancer therapies and measure early tumoricidal response. As part of this facility, PET tracers 
targeting various tumor markers and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, as well as complementary 
optical and MR methodologies, are being developed to sensitively and specifically quantify drug-cancer cell 
interactions. The IVIF provides a critical shared resource for testing PET tracers in in vivo rodent models of 
cancer and validating promising agents in humans through quantitative imaging trials. The overall goal of the 
IVIF is to provide pre-clinical and clinical imaging services to HCC investigators to assist in visualizing 
mechanisms of biomarker action, provide approaches for early disease detection, and monitor therapeutic 
efficacy. The IVIF supports all 7 programs at HCC, and has contributed to high impact publications in 
Immunity, Cancer Cell, Theranostics and Nature Communications, among other journals. IVIF had 76 users of 
which 66 were HCC investigators. Of the 66 HCC users, 42 had peer-reviewed funding. 
The Specific Aims of the IVIF: (1) Assess biomarker expression throughout cancer treatment using a single 
modality or a combination of modalities, both clinically and pre-clinically; (2) provide non-invasive imaging 
services for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in humans and animal models of cancer; (3) provide standard 
imaging assessment services to evaluate all types of treatment response using the FDA-approved and other 
standard imaging assessment criteria; (4) provide and incorporate novel imaging analytics such as radiomics 
and radiogenomics for clinical and preclinical tumor characterizations; and (5) develop novel imaging 
algorithms, advanced imaging analytics, radiotracers, and contrast agents for clinical and pre-clinical 
oncological imaging to monitor and evaluate treatment response and agents for targeted radionuclide therapy. 
Key Services Include: (1) PET radiotracer development and production for human PET-CT and PET-MRI; (2) 
pre-clinical PET-CT and clinical or preclinical assessment of biomarker expression during cancer treatment; 
and (3) developing methods for monitoring drug treatments and other types of therapy with PET-CT, CT, 
and/or MRI through the use of molecular imaging, standard imaging assessments, tumor volumetrics, 
radiomics and radiogenomics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10474517
- **Project number:** 5P30CA047904-34
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Rivka R Colen
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $252,303
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-09-10 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10474517

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10474517, In Vivo Imaging Facility (5P30CA047904-34). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10474517. Licensed CC0.

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