The University of Manchester
Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre
27 Palatine Road
M20 2TR
Withington, Manchester

United Kingdom

 Homepage

Project Leader

Dr. Marie-Claude Asselin Phone: +44-(0)161-275 0068  Fax: +44-(0)161-275 0003  Contact

Project Staff

Dr. Gavin Brown Synthetic chemist / Radiolabelling  Contact

Dr. Adam McMahon Analytical chemist / Metabolites analysis & quality control  Contact

Dr. Julian Matthews Methodologist / HRRT instrumentation & reconstruction  Contact

Prof. Dr. Karl Herholz Neurologist / Director of WMIC   Contact

Institute Presentation

The Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre (WMIC) is a newly integrated research institute of The University of Manchester that focuses on PET studies in Oncology and Neuroscience with methodological support. The centre is located at one of Europe's biggest cancer treatment hospitals, the Christie Hospital, and collaborates with the three main University Hospitals: Hope, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Wythenshawe.

The WMIC is a purpose-built centre for PET-based molecular imaging and has a GE PET Trace cyclotron, 23 synthesis hotcells of which 8 meet GMP standards for the manufacture of radiolabelled PET tracers.
The clinical suite comprises 2 human PET scanners, a PET/CT scanner and the HRRT brain scanner which is the highest performance camera in the UK with intrinsic 2.5mm spatial resolution, and a bioanalysis laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment for blood and metabolites assays.
The centre also houses a cell culture laboratory and a Quad HIDAC PET scanner for pre-clinical studies. Oncology studies commenced in June 2006 and brain studies in September 2006.
The WMIC was granted an MHRA license for the production and administration of [18F]- and [11C]-labelled compounds to humans in December 2006 and performed its first in-house radioligand brain PET scan in April 2007 with (R)-[11C]PK11195 as part of a study on neuroinflammation in dementia.