About

The Imaging Research Initiative (IRI) was established to leverage strength in imaging science to develop new imaging technologies to address fundamental biological questions. The goal of the IRI is to further expand and effectively integrate our world-class imaging throughout the BSD in order to enhance biomedical and clinical research. The IRI has the broader vision of “the imaging of science and the science of imaging,” and serves as both an intellectual unit and a collaborative service group.

The first years of BSD funding for the IRI have been focused on two urgent areas: (1) improving the role of imaging in human research studies by establishing the Human Imaging Research Office (HIRO) and (2) improving the role of imaging in basic and translational biomedical research by establishing the multi-modality Integrated Small Animal Imaging Research Resource (iSAIRR). While the bulk of the leadership and staff are in the Department of Radiology, the participation, collaborations, and enhancements are throughout the various departments in the BSD.

The IRI is a BSD research and services home for imaging scientists and for biomedical investigators who utilize imaging approaches in their research. The infrastructure of the IRI serves to integrate and coordinate imaging-based research in order to incubate innovative research in imaging science and support groundbreaking biological-based research.

Managed by the Department of Radiology, the IRI is funded by the BSD and supported in parts by the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Centerand the University of Chicago Institute for Translational Medicine.