Reading the Mind - MultiPark Imaging Goes to London

2011-10-24

At first glance, Ruben Smith doesn’t seem the obvious candidate for an escapade to the global city of London. Having grown up in Lund with a rather straight and narrow path towards the world of white coats and test tubes, his exterior doesn’t suggest a man with a particularly daring streak. With his mother being a neuroscientist, and of great influence to him, he admits that he always suspected that he would end up on those same floors of the neurology ward, high up in the grey and white behemoth that is Lund’s main hospital building.

Apart from a short-lived rebellion in his twenties, when he went to explore life on the French riviera, he has been on a steady course towards a career in neuroscience ever since he was a teenager. What drives him to venture abroad this time is a unique opportunity to study under the tutelage of Paola Piccini and David Brooks, two household names in brain imaging with a combined experience unparalleled in Europe today.

- I’ve had the opportunity to meet with Paolo a few times now and it all looks very promising. I mean, they are one of the top labs in the world when it comes to PET-imaging so naturally it’s a great honor to get this chance.

The visual nature of brain imaging gives it a direct appeal that many areas of neuroscience find hard to match. Colorful images of the active brain, routinely on display in television shows today, offers a glimpse into the brain at work. This directness is what attracted Ruben Smith to imaging in the first place. Real-time snap shots of targeted processes in the brain are alluring, not only to the TV-audience, but to most neuroscientists as well.

Lund taking the lead

Bioimaging is a rapidly developing field in medical science and Lund has taken a leading position with the foundation of the Lund Bioimaging Center in 2008. Piece-by-peace the costly equipment is being put into place, with the new cyclotron as the latest addition to the impressive line of state-ofthe-art machinery.

Machines alone won’t do the trick however. The new technical platforms have to be matched with a simultaneous build-up of competence among local researchers. This is where Ruben Smith comes in to the picture. His interest in PET-imaging stretches back some years but the opportunities for hands-on experience in image analysis have been scarce. By travelling to London he will get the opportunity to learn the trade and bring home valuable know-how that will eventually be passed on to colleagues in neighboring research networks.

One avenue where Ruben’s expertise will come in handy is within the translational TRANSEURO network, a research consortium with the objective to develop a treatment for Parkinson’s disease using fetal cells. With the help of up-to-date imaging techniques the route from a discovery in the lab to it being tested on patients will be considerably shorter.

- Now, when people have ideas for a certain project involving bioimaging, we have the opportunity to implement it here in Lund. Previously you’ve had to go through time-consuming processes of establishing contacts in other places. This presents all new possibilities, both for clinical trials and preclinical studies. The investment sends a signal that the region wants to take a leading role in this area of research, Ruben explains.

The science behind PET

So what does this PET-imaging technique do? The basics of the technology involve tagging a molecule of interest with a radioactive tracer. The tracer then sends out anti-electrons (positrons) that will eventually collide with an electron. At the moment of collision two gamma rays are released, that radiation is then detected by the PET-camera.
Statistically significant concentrations of radioactivity can now tell us something about the level of synaptic acitivity in the area of the brain that is being targeted for analysis. For example, brain imaging in Parkinson’s disease allows for visualization of the pre-synaptic activity in dopamine neurons. A lower signal here, indicated by fewer gamma-rays released, suggests that the patient’s capability to take up dopamine in the presynapse is reduced as a result of neurodegeneration.

As a tool for diagnosis the imaging technique has the obvious advantage of being less invasive than other methods. The fast-moving development of bioimaging technical platforms over the past decade has made it possible for researchers to study biological phenomena in the body without exposing the patient to surgery.

- The obvious benefits in some cases are that you don’t have to operate, for example go inside the cranium to look for something. This allows us to study the brain functions in a relatively simple and repeatable way without as much distress for the patient.

Switching cities

The challenges presented to Ruben in the Hammersmith hospital clinics are likely to be accompanied by the trials of adjusting to life in England’s capital. Switching Lund for London, a population increase a hundred times over, will present unusual everyday situations for the family of four, used to the relative tranquility of Lund.

As bicycling students are replaced by the hustle and bustle of big city traffic the Smith’s hope to find a sanctuary in their London home, which is yet to be decided upon. The obvious upside of the trip across the North Sea is the cultural smorgasbord on offer. Ruben himself can’t wait to visit the many museums.

- What attract me the most are without a doubt the museums. For example, the British Museum of Natural History. Hopefully we will be able to go there with our three-year-old and look at dinosaur skeletons, says Ruben, later on admitting that he may be using his children as an excuse for a long awaited Jurassic Park revival.