CMBI’s primary task will be development of an infrastructure that facilitates interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and university-industrial collaborations in imaging science. The most interesting opportunities often require such collaborations, which are very hard to start in the highly competitive Federal funding environment. No investigator will get primary support from CMBI, but the Center will provide an infrastructure that permits rapid development of new ideas. A strong commercial relevance and potential for technology transfer is possible, already evident by the amount of industrial support given to various proposals.
In summary, a real opportunity exists now to put Duke University at the forefront of molecular and biomolecular imaging applications with tremendous commercial and scientific impact.