Cancer imaging is set to get a major boost in the UK, thanks to a £35 million initiative to develop cutting-edge technologies for basic and clinical cancer research. Cancer Research UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are together committing £35 million for five years to four separate cancer imaging centers across the country, helping to cement the UK’s position as a world leader in cancer imaging research. The new initiative builds on a £50 million initial investment in October 2008.

This latest funding will bring together scientists, engineers and clinicians to develop new imaging techniques and applications to help clinicians learn more about tumor growth, signaling between cancer cells, tumor blood supply, the environment surrounding tumors, and molecular and genetic signatures. The research will include a variety of techniques such as optical microscopy, MRI, functional MRI, ultrasound and positron emission tomography.

The four imaging centers that will receive the funding are at the University of Oxford; The Institute of Cancer Research, London; a joint imaging center between King’s College London and University College London; and a new collaboration between the universities of Cambridge and Manchester.