GRK 2260:  BIOQIC - BIOphysical Quantitative Imaging Towards Clinical Diagnosis

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: since 2017
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 289347353

In current clinical practice of medical imaging, most diagnostic decisions rely on qualitative markers, whose interpretation is highly subjective and requires thousands of hours of training. The mission of BIOQIC is to teach and promote the skills required for the measurement of quantitative imaging markers by establishing an institutional framework for postgraduate training to foster interdisciplinary and translational research. BIOQIC promotes multidisciplinary research and education in imaging sciences with collaborative arrangements between research institutions, clinical sites of Charité – Universi-tätsmedizin Berlin including Europe's largest radiological department, and enterprises in medical imaging technology beyond the currently existing institutional borders. The BIOQIC research program will advance medical imaging methods towards the system-independent quantification of the constitution and structure of biological soft tissues including vascular components, multiscale fluid motility as well as mechanical parameters. Scientific training will be offered in 15 individual projects from 3 project areas: ‘Fluid Transport’, ‘Tissue Mechanics’, and ‘Tissue Structures’. The training covers the quantitative analysis of image parameters related to biophysics and tissue structure over a wide range of spatial scales, from microscopic structures to macroscopic representation, measured by innovative imaging approaches. BIOQIC guarantees multidisciplinary supervision by forming tandem teams of basic scientists and clinical experts. In order to overcome communication barriers, doctoral researchers will learn both, about the clinical challenges and how to respond to them with new approaches in quantitative imaging. The program is specifically designed to provide training in imaging sciences and to enhance skills that will help our trainees to become independent researchers. In-depth training will be provided through block courses in ‘Imaging Physics & Chemistry', 'Biophysics & Biomechanics’, and 'Mathematics & Signal Processing’, as well as continuous teaching in 'Clinical Translation' and ‘Enhanced Skills’. In addition, exchange between researchers will be fostered by lab rotations, hands-on training, student-organized seminars, and workshops. Embedded within a top-rated teaching hospital, BIOQIC is uniquely suited to train and nurture the next generation of imaging scientists and research leaders for the advancement of biophysics-based, quantitative medical imaging.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• Co-Applicant Institution: Freie Universität Berlin
• Participating Institution: Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP); im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.; Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC); Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB); Standort Berlin
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Ingolf Sack
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Ulrich Abram; Professor Dr. Winfried Brenner; Professor Dr. Marc Dewey; Professor Dr. Thomas Fischer; Dr. Jing Guo, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr.-Ing. Anja Hennemuth; Professor Dr. Leif Schröder; Professorin Dr. Jeanette-Esther Schulz-Menger; Professor Dr. Tobias Schäffter