Iwona Dobrucka is assistant director of Beckman’s Molecular Imaging Lab, one of Beckman’s five core facilities. In this Q&A, she shares more about MIL and how it helps Beckman researchers (and those beyond the University of Illinois) image the invisible.

What makes MIL unique on the Illinois campus?

The Molecular Imaging Laboratory houses the only positron emission tomography-capable molecular imaging scanner within about 90 miles of campus, making it not only a campus resource but also a source of research support for other academic institutions and industrial partners.

In addition to this unique equipment, MIL offers state-of-the-art expertise in in vivo imaging and radiochemistry. This includes the synthesis and quality control of radioactive imaging agents, microsurgery to develop animal models of disease and animal imaging on a PET/SPECT/CT scanner equipped with specialized instrumentation for high-resolution, high-sensitivity acquisitions.

What kind of support does the facility offer researchers?

MIL supports projects from an initial concept through final data analysis.

MIL’s staff scientists consult on experimental design and feasibility, help with imaging agents, perform microsurgical procedures such as intravascular catheter placement for tracer injection and serial blood sampling, develop protocols and assist with image reconstruction, quantification and interpretation.

The facility serves an equally substantial educational role. It hosts Carle Illinois College of Medicine students seeking hands-on imaging experience. Bioengineering and other graduate students also learn the instruments. Postdoctoral fellows from institutions worldwide visit the lab, too.

Beyond technical supervision, MIL staff contribute to the fellowship and grant applications that fund this work, supporting trainees' career development alongside their experiments.

What is your proudest accomplishment related to MIL?

One of the most significant accomplishments has been sustaining MIL's technical growth.

The clearest example is securing funding for the PET/SPECT system now installed at the MIL, one of only a few in the United States. Conventional small-animal PET cannot match its resolution and discrimination. This allows researchers to resolve structures and simultaneously track two or more radiolabeled agents in the same animal.

Two current projects illustrate what that capability supports. A $3 million award from the National Institute on Aging, led by Professor Liviu Mirica and collaborators, funds the development of dual-modality PET/MRI imaging agents for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease, and is among the first federal grants to bridge the imaging capabilities of the Molecular Imaging Laboratory and the Biomedical Imaging Center.

A 2025 Beckman research seed grant supports work on cold plasma-primed extracellular vesicles as a novel cell-free therapy for critical limb ischemia, led by Professors Wawrzyniec Dobrucki with Marni Boppart and J. Gary Eden, with MIL imaging resources used to track vesicle fate and vascular recovery in preclinical models of disease.

Equally rewarding is the impact these advanced imaging technologies have on training the next generation of scientists. Providing undergraduate, graduate and medical students with hands-on experience using state-of-the-art molecular imaging systems is a rare opportunity.

This practical training equips trainees with valuable technical skills and has consistently been recognized as one of the Molecular Imaging Laboratory's greatest strengths in user evaluations.