press release Fundamentals of Molecular Imaging: For Tomorrows' Practice 2nd International University of Malaya Research Imaging Symposium 16th and 17th July 2005 Medical research has long been the backbone of medicine and its related fields, leading to discoveries and inventions, which have revolutionized the world of medicine. The current trend is towards research into the relatively uncharted territories of molecular medicine and finally into molecular imaging. Imaging has entered a new phase where hybrid imaging methods will begin to encompass anatomic, functional and molecular information. Research in imaging covers all aspects and modalities of imaging for integrated research which includes structural imaging, functional imaging and currently examining imaging in cellular and molecular levels. Towards providing an insight into this new phase for imaging and into opportunities of multidisciplinary research the Radiology Department of the University of Malaya is organizing the Second International University of Malaya Research centre (UMRIC) symposium entitled "Fundamentals of Molecular Imaging - for Tomorrows Practice". Molecular imaging is broadly defined as the characterisation and measurement of biological processes in living animals at the cellular and molecular level to assist in early diagnosis and monitoring therapy with a view of being able to provide personalised medicine. This is the first such regional meeting ever organised to expose the medical community (biochemists, biomedical engineers, medical physicists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, nuclear medicine specialists and other healthcare practitioners) to the basics and understanding of the fundamentals of molecular imaging. We hope that this meeting will expose all the doctors and allied health professional in the potential areas for collaborative research and applications that this new area of imaging is generating. This meeting will keep us informed and stay abreast with the exciting area of biomedical imaging. Lectures will be delivered by eminent speakers in their respective fields led by Dr King Li, MD, from the National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA. Other eminent speakers include Dr Sunil Pandit, MD, also from National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA., Professor Rodney Hicks who is the Director at Centre for Molecular Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne, Dr Charles Keller, MD, from the Small Animal Imaging Core Facility at the Children's Cancer Research Institute, The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas USA, Dr. Arne Hengerer PhD, Director of Molecular Imaging Business Development, Siemens Medical Solutions, Germany and Dr. Patricia A Bresnahan, Ph.D, who is with GE Healthcare Biosciences (formerly Amersham Biosciences), Hong Kong as the Regional Applications Manager, Discovery Systems. From the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur we have Professor Looi Lai Meng from the Department of Pathology, Assoc Professor Maude Phipps and Professor Onn Haji Hashim from Department of Molecular Medicine and Dr Haji Azizuddin b Haji Kamaruddin from the animal research laboratory. The topics to be covered include: New clinical approaches combining genomics and proteomics with imaging, Practical Vessel Imaging by Computed Tomography in Live Transgenic Mouse Models for Human Tumors, Genomics for imagers, Molecular Imaging Probe Development, Animal Research and Ethics, Nanoscale MRI contrast agents, Drug Development Cycle, Equipment for Imaging Molecular processes, Tumour angiogenesis, Molecular MRI: status quo and perspectives and Personalized medicine- pharmaco-genomics/ pharmaco-genetics amongst others. This 2nd symposium is a sequel of a very successful inaugural International "Research Imaging Symposium" held on the 18th and 19th of February 2004 which identified and explored opportunities in imaging research including biomedical imaging and engineering related to diagnosis and therapy and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the UMRIC. The mission of the University of Malaya Research Imaging Centre (UMRIC) is to improve health by promoting fundamental discoveries, design, development, translation and assessment of medical and technological capabilities in biomedical imaging, enabled by relevant areas of medicine, biochemistry, medical physics, biomedical engineering, imaging sciences, informatics and mathematics. The UMRIC will plan, conduct, foster and support integrated and coordinated programmes of research and research training that can be applied to a broad spectrum of biological processes, disorders and diseases in humans. The UMRIC, with other national and international research centers, will collaborate and coordinate to support imaging research with potential medical applications and facilitate the transfer of such technologies in medicine. The primary mission of UMRIC is to perform fundamental and clinical biomedical research utilising both noninvasive and invasive imaging modalities. The increasing use of noninvasive biological measurements for imaging of function and disease are in a phase of rapid evolution. Therefore, the development and application of new technologies will be an integral component of the mission of the UMRIC. In view of the increasing necessity for dissemination of research methods and its use as a necessary condition for its continuing development and progress in future, the UMRIC will train a pool of basic and clinical scientists in imaging research methods and disciplines for this purpose. Basri Johan Jeet Abdullah Chairman Organising Committee UMRIS 2005 basrij@um.edu.my 10th May 2005