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Talk Summary:
Preclinical imaging facilities provide access to advanced whole-body imaging technologies and specialist expertise, enabling researchers to study disease models longitudinally and non-invasively. Operating within highly specialised and regulated research environments, facilities face increasing pressures from infrastructure and operating costs, workforce capacity, governance and long-term sustainability.

Drawing on findings from the UK Preclinical Imaging Network (UK-PIN), this presentation will highlight challenges currently experienced by the UK preclinical imaging community. The UK-PIN survey captured perspectives from 25 organisations, predominantly research-intensive universities, spanning the major whole-body imaging modalities. The findings highlight strong demand for collaboration, training, shared infrastructure, standardisation, data-sharing and image-analysis pipelines, while funding, governance, coordination and data management remain important barriers.

Alongside these existing pressures, the wider preclinical research landscape is changing internationally. New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly prominent, accompanied by evolving regulatory expectations and increasing funding emphasis on human-relevant, computational and integrated approaches.

The presentation will consider how NAMs may be integrated into existing preclinical workflows and how AI and digital models are extending the possibilities for image analysis, data integration and prediction. It will examine what these developments could mean for whole-body imaging facilities, particularly in relation to expertise, computational infrastructure, utilisation and financial sustainability. The emerging challenge is therefore not simply the adoption of new approaches, but how imaging facilities position themselves within an increasingly integrated and data-intensive preclinical research environment.

Presenter Biography:
Dr Saimir Luli is a Research Technical Professional and Head of the Preclinical In Vivo Imaging Facility at Newcastle University, UK. His career has been built through technical innovation, method development and facility leadership rather than a traditional academic pathway. He leads an open-access, multimodality facility supporting researchers from experimental design and method development through image acquisition, quantitative analysis and interpretation. Since 2023, Dr Luli has developed and led more than £1.6 million in strategic preclinical imaging investment, securing funding across the Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and British Heart Foundation, alongside Newcastle University and charitable investment. These programmes have established new capabilities in image-guided radiotherapy, integrated in vivo optical-CT imaging and advanced preclinical ultrasound. He is Theme Lead for Newcastle University’s Innovation, Methodology and Application (IMA) Theme, supporting interdisciplinary communities focused on methodological and technological development. He established ImagiNE, connecting imaging expertise and infrastructure across five UK North East universities, and, with support from the Royal Microscopical Society and BioImagingUK, developed the UK Preclinical Imaging Network (UK-PIN) nationally. These networks aim to advance best practice and standardisation in image acquisition and analysis, support method development, improve access to technology and expertise, and develop more financially sustainable facilities through resource sharing and collaborative funding. His research focuses on non-invasive imaging of chronic liver disease and the development and evaluation of novel therapeutics, with particular interests in quantitative imaging of liver fibrosis and image-guided radiotherapy for liver cancer.

Author
Saimir Luli
Newcastle University