INDUSTRY

$24 million study will allow for large-scale imaging studies on brain disease and illness -- A nationwide consortium of researchers, led by UC Irvine brain imaging specialist Dr. Steven Potkin, has received a $24.3 million grant from the NIH's National Center for Research Resources to standardize functional magnetic resonance imaging and help make large-scale studies on brain disease and illness possible for the first time. The five-year grant marks the next phase of the Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN), which was formed in 2001 to build the technology and methods needed for researchers to share brain scan data. UCI is the lead site for the consortium grant, which is the second-largest in the campus' history. This new effort will focus on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a method of magnetic scanning that reveals detailed pictures of brain activity corresponding to the performance of a wide array of mental tasks and the effects of chemicals, such as hormones and drugs. fMRI is a unique research tool, as it allows researchers to ascertain subtleties in the process of thought. "There are around 7,000 locations in the U.S. right now doing MRI scanning, yet there is no way to combine the data in a useful way from these sites," said Potkin, the Robert R. Sprague Director of the Brain Imaging Center and professor of psychiatry and human behavior at UCI. "Our effort gives researchers from around the country the tools necessary to do multi-site imaging studies for the first time." Although brain imaging technology has generated remarkable progress in understanding how mental and neurological diseases develop, it has been nearly impossible for one laboratory to share and compare findings with other labs. A lack of coordinated networks for sharing data, plus limitations in compatible imaging and computer hardware and software, have isolated scientists. This isolation has barred researchers from collaborative efforts that could provide the large database of brain images needed for a comprehensive look at brain dysfunction. By allowing laboratory scientists and clinical investigators to share and mine large quantities of data related to a particular disease, Potkin and his BIRN colleagues at UCI and throughout the network hope to speed the rate of discoveries and their translation to treatments for diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, depression and dementia. Based on success in the neuroscience studies, the overall BIRN project will expand to create a sustainable, scalable, widely available electronic infrastructure that supports and encourages collaborative biomedical research in a broad range of diseases. The UCI-based consortium is called Function BIRN (FBIRN) and is focused on understanding the hallucinations and abnormal emotional responses characteristic of schizophrenia. In the first phase of the project: - FBIRN established for the first time that the difference between MRI scanners and techniques across centers is so great that the value of multi-site studies is undermined, and - FBIRN developed calibration and correction methods to mitigate these obstacles and allow multi-site studies to realize their potential. "Through this effort, we are creating new models for collaboration among researchers who study neuropsychiatric diseases at multiple sites with different equipment," said Dr. Elaine Collier, assistant director of the National Center for Research Resources Division of Clinical Research. "Function BIRN's utilization of emerging technology for collaborative research and sharing of knowledge gained will accelerate scientific discoveries by allowing researchers to tackle complex questions and large-scale research projects that were not previously possible."