The mission of the Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center (BIOMIC) at Vanderbilt University is to build a platform of integrated technologies for imaging and molecular analysis that enables the construction of comprehensive 3-dimensional molecular atlases of the human kidney. BIOMIC leverages the unique resources of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center at Vanderbilt University along with the world-class clinical environment of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the biocomputational expertise at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) to create a capability to characterize human tissues at a level of understanding unrivaled by current technologies.

The innovative aspect of BIOMIC is the combination of 3-dimensional imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) with a variety of in vivo and ex vivo imaging technologies to create new modalities of molecularly-informed medical imaging. The application of the BIOMIC platform to organ-specific projects in the kidney will provide a new paradigm of understanding the normal state of this organ across multiple dimensions, both molecular (e.g., lipids, metabolites, and proteins) and spatial (e.g., whole organs to single cells).

As a HuBMAP participant, the molecular atlases generated by BIOMIC will be disseminated to collaborators worldwide to facilitate the generation and testing of new hypotheses regarding the function of this important organ system, enabling new insight into human health and disease. The mission of BIOMIC is to create a platform that can efficiently acquire and integrate multimodal imaging data sets, including imaging mass spectrometry, histology, CODEX multiplexed IF microscopy, magnetic resonance imaging, and high-resolution CT imaging for the formation of comprehensive 3-D molecular atlases.