Advanced Imaging and Biomarker Discovery Platform
The International Microbiome Centre (IMC) Advanced Imaging and Biomarker Discovery Platform is a state-of-the-art program that provides access to and expertise in advanced technologies (MIBI) for visualizing immune cells and microbes using high parameter analysis and spatial positioning within tissues.
Vision
Our vision is to use advanced technologies such as the MIBI for biomarker discovery to harness the power of the microbiome for better living.
Mission
Our mission is to use advanced imaging and biomarker discovery for microbiome research to understand which microbes and immune cells are present, how they are interacting and to determine their location within a tissue. Our goal is to gain a detailed understanding of the effect of the microbiome on the host environment including immune cell function in health and disease. In alignment with the overall IMC mission, the Advanced Imaging and Biomarker Discovery Platform also offers the latest cutting-edge technologies for advancement of microbiome research to a broad audience of researchers (internal and external), industry, and government including animal health, agriculture, energy and the environment. IMC promotes standardization of genomics protocols and is developing a global network for collaborations and partnerships to further enable translation of microbiome research.
Key Areas of Research
Antibody panel design
(human and mouse)
Antibody labelling for MIBI
Acquisition of samples
Data analysis support by IMC bioinformatics platform
Contract research for internal and external clients
Including consultation regarding experimental design, conducting experiments and providing results.
Personnel
Dr. Margaret Kelly, MD, PhD, Faculty Lead, Advanced Imaging and Biomarker Discovery Platform
Dr. Margaret Kelly is a clinician-scientist (Pulmonary Pathologist) and Associate Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine. She is the Faculty Lead for the International Microbiome Centre Advanced Imaging and Biomarker Discovery Platform. She is a Clinician-Scientist with an interest in chronic lung diseases, specifically inflammatory and remodeling aspects. Her lab focuses on asthma and interstitial lung diseases such as Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP), Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), and autoimmune lung disease. Her lab uses a mouse model of severe neutrophilic asthma with airway remodeling and a model of chronic pulmonary fibrosis in which the pattern of fibrosis is similar to that seen in chronic HP and IPF. As part of the airway inflammation group, her lab is also involved in sputum and biopsy based studies in asthma and COPD.