Translational Imaging
Non-invasive assessment of biochemical and biological processes.
We have unrivalled imaging capabilities available to help you accelerate drug development and achieve maximum therapeutic benefit.
The ability to perform non-invasive imaging to assess and study novel therapeutics requires significant investment in infrastructure and highly experienced staff. At MDC, we have both.
Monitoring, assessing, and characterising novel therapeutics in pre-clinical models plays an essential part in drug development. All drugs have an optimum concentration range in which maximum benefit is achieved. Pre-clinical imaging can help scientists optimise the selective delivery of a therapeutic concentration of a drug to its target tissue.
Such studies require significant investment in infrastructure, highly experienced staff, and access to relevant disease models.
Industry-Leading Expertise
We have unrivalled pre-clinical imaging capabilities to accelerate your drug development:
- In vivo imaging
- Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Molecular Pathology for ex vivo analysis of tissues
- Spatial Transcriptomic capability
- Data integration from multiple pre-clinical imaging modalities to add value
Did You Know?
Clinical trials are expensive, with high attrition rates usually attributed to lack of efficacy, the wrong safety profile, incorrect strategy or poor pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) – an alternative dose-effect analysis used to measure drug concentration in a body compartment.
The rate of drug attrition can be reduced by better understanding the clinical questions and building testable and scientific evidence to transition between pre-clinical and clinical settings.
High-Quality Data
Our imaging platforms can visualise the biodistribution of molecules in cells, tissues and, track novel drug delivery and complex medicine modalities, and provide clear evidence of biomarker responses to novel drug candidates. We can access specialist in vivo models and PET radiotracers to meet specific programme needs. We are here to help you advance your programmes with high-quality data.
What We Offer
Multi-parametric imaging modalities:
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- Gamma counting biodistribution analysis
- Computed Tomography (CT)
- High-Frequency Ultrasound (HFUS)
- Bioluminescence/NIR imaging (IVIS)
- Mass Spectrometry Imaging (DESI, MALDI)
- Complex Microscopy (supra-resolution/confocal)
We can also provide access to:
- Novel radiochemistry and commercial radiotracers
- Animal models across disease areas
- Pre-commercial technologies
- Multi-modal enhanced interpretation of functional and molecular data
We use imaging technologies to visualise biological functions with the aim of accelerating disease understanding and drug development. Our imaging technologies can quantify:
- Organ accumulation – pharmacokinetics (PK), biodistribution
- Target expression or engagement – stratification
- Biological activity – pharmacodynamics (PD), optimal biological dose
- Toxicities or drug-drug interactions – safety, drug combination studies
- Surrogacy for clinical endpoint – efficacy
Our multi-disciplinary pre-clinical imaging team are experts in their field, from radiochemistry expertise to industrial translational imaging acquisition alongside, complex in vivo modelling expertise.
Our team have experience from both the academic and pharmaceutical sector and are working to help optimise the use of imaging technologies and validate therapeutic targets and platforms for use in the clinical setting.
Dr Juliana Maynard
Head of Translational ImagingChallenges We Can Help With
Our expertise in pre-clinical imaging can help with:
Supporting your Drug Discovery Journey with:
Drug biodistribution and organ accumulation:
- PET distribution of radiotracers
- Near Infra-Red and (Deep whole-body penetration and biodistribution), Bioluminescence imaging (lentiviral transduction of luciferase-expressing cell lines to image within animal models)
- Micro-CT bioimaging
Through Collaborative R&D, we can:
- Make state-of-the-art imaging technologies and expertise available for you to develop new drugs
- Develop and validate new imaging methods, biomarkers and platforms in vivo and ex vivo
- Accelerate the development of new drug modalities, e.g., antisense oligonucleotides, modified RNA and nanoparticles
- Provide a unique platform of pre-clinical imaging data alongside mass spectrometry imaging, biomarker insights, pathology and molecular analyses to deliver deeply informative data sets for better project decision making
Thanks to our pre-clinical tissue imaging capabilities, you will be able to:
- Get expert advice on protocol design, image acquisition, image analyses and interpretation, reporting, and manuscript preparations
- Use pre-clinical imaging technologies to understand the in vivo effects of your drug, e.g., biodistribution and PK/PD
- De-risk candidate drugs by understanding in vivo safety and efficacy endpoints and providing translational biomarkers
- Compare imaging data with that from other technologies using the same samples
- Develop new technologies that will advance our understanding of disease and drug response
Reshaping Medicines Discovery...
It's ambitious, it's achievable
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The UK has internationally-leading biomedical research that can be enhanced by easier access to PET instrumentation and the associated expertise.
UK PET Network Planning Group
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It’s been absolutely amazing working with MDC and the team.
Helen Philippou, Founder Director
LUNAC Therapeutics
Our Experts
Dr Juliana Maynard
Head of Translational Imaging
Dr Juliana Maynard
Head of Translational Imaging
Juliana Maynard is an expert Imaging Scientist specialising in pre-clinical imaging technologies, which ultimately aims to advance innovative drug discovery, bringing medicines to patients, faster.
An enthusiastic, proactive, very committed and hard-working individual Juliana has worked with a broad range of imaging modalities including PET, SPECT, CT, ultrasound and MRI. She has a proven track record of research for over 15 years as evidenced in her publications across a wide range of disease and therapy areas. She possesses good project management skills and has successfully delivered multiple projects with a strong delivery focus. She enjoys working across boundaries using her interpersonal skills to engage with customers and to “put an idea” into practice
Juliana has been based in the North West since earning her PhD at the University of Edinburgh in 2006. She worked at the University of Manchester and then spent 9 years in increasingly senior roles at AstraZeneca. On leaving AstraZeneca, Juliana recognised the opportunity that medical imaging can have in improving and accelerating drug discovery and set up the creation of a commercial imaging service offering with the ambition to make this readily available for use across the UK drug discovery community.
Dr Michael Fairclough
Lead Scientist
Dr Michael Fairclough
Lead Scientist
Michael has worked in the field of PET radiochemistry for over 15 years, obtaining his PhD in radiochemistry from the University of Manchester focussing on PET radiochemistry for the investigation of pain and inflammation. Michael also holds an honorary lecture position at the University of Manchester teaching basic and advanced PET radiochemistry theory for MSc students.
Dr Dhifaf Jasim
Senior Scientist
Dr Dhifaf Jasim
Senior Scientist
Dhifaf has over 12 years of experience in the field of Pharmacy (industry, clinical, community, teaching, and research).
After obtaining M.Sc. in drug delivery from the School of Pharmacy University of London with distinction, she was awarded the ORS Award from UCL School of Pharmacy to complete her PhD in Pharmacology/Nanomedicine which was carried out at both UCL School of Pharmacy and the University of Manchester. She has made, characterised, and labelled various nanoparticles and biomolecules with different labels whether for optical imaging or nuclear imaging purposes.
Dhifaf has extensive experience in vivo imaging (SPECT/CT, IVIS) and in vivo/in vitro toxicity with the aim of understanding the structure-activity relationships. Dhifaf also holds an honorary teaching role at the University of Manchester where she teaches both MPharm and postgraduate (CDT) students.
Dr Paul Sharp
Lead Scientist
Dr Paul Sharp
Lead Scientist
Paul is a Senior Preclinical Imaging Scientist with over 15 years of experience in driving innovation in translational research within academia and industry.
Paul has a PhD in neuroscience and expertise across multiple therapeutics areas from oncology to CNS disorders, with a strong focus on applying anatomical and functional imaging modalities for disease phenotyping, PK/PD readouts and evaluating whole-body biodistribution of complex medicines.
Dr Benedetta Arno
Lead Scientist
Dr Benedetta Arno
Lead Scientist
Benedetta is an expert scientist, with over 10 years of research experience within academia and industry. She has experience in leading in vivo drug discovery projects, with the main focus on characterising complex medicines distribution and efficacy using a broad range of imaging modalities including PET, CT, optical imaging and ultrasound as well as ex vivo tissue analysis. With great project management skills, she has successfully delivered multiple projects across a variety of diseases and therapeutic areas. Benedetta has a BSc in biotechnology and MSc Hons in biomedical science before completing her PhD in Neuroscience.
Dr Tatiane Takahashi
Senior Scientist
Dr Tatiane Takahashi
Senior Scientist
Tatiane has over 11 years of pre-clinical research experience within academia and industry. She has expertise in psychiatric disorders and oncology, as well as experience in leading in vivo drug discovery projects of complex medicines. Tatiane is well acquainted in applying non-destructive imaging modalities in in vivo studies, such as PET, CT, MRI and IVIS, and a vast experience in ex vivo tissue imaging and molecular analysis. Tatiane holds a BSc and MSc in Pharmacology and has received a PhD with Magna cum laude distinction in neuropsychopharmacology from Heidelberg University in Germany.
Tracy Hall
Pre-clinical Scientist
Tracy Hall
Pre-clinical Scientist
Tracy is an expert Pre-clinical scientist who has a wealth of expertise over many years and now specialises in pre-clinical imaging technologies, which ultimately aims to advance innovative drug discovery, bringing medicines to patients, faster.
An enthusiastic, proactive, very committed and hard-working individual Tracy has worked with a broad range of imaging modalities across a number of therapeutic areas. She has a proven track record of research for over 20years and a wealth of industry expertise. She excels in good project management skills and has successfully delivered multiple projects with a strong delivery focus.
Tracy started her career at Zeneca and has previous experience with DMPK and toxicology projects. Now at Medicines Discovery Catapult Tracy enjoys working across various models of translational projects with advanced imaging capabilities and surgical procedures. Tracy plays a pivotal role in supporting our SME and industry partners in their pre-clinical imaging studies.
Our Capabilities and Technologies
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If you are involved with medicines discovery in the UK in any way, we can almost certainly assist you.