The focus of our Tissue Mapping Center is to construct molecular atlases of the pancreas and eye using multimodal imaging technologies developed as part of the Vanderbilt University Biomolecular Multimodal Imaging Center (BIOMIC). Vanderbilt University hosts cutting-edge multimodal imaging technology and biocomputational resources, and the nationally-ranked associated Medical Center provides premier facilities for biospecimen collection. BIOMIC brings together the unique resources of the Mass Spectrometry Research Center at Vanderbilt University, the world-class clinical environments of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and the advanced biocomputational infrastructure available at Vanderbilt University and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) to create a capability to molecularly characterize human tissues at a level of understanding unrivaled by any single technology.

The major theme of BIOMIC is the integration of high spatial resolution and high-content imaging modalities with comprehensive multi-omics data sets mapped across the 3-D volume of human tissues. The data sets we are generating span a vast range of spatial resolutions (gross anatomy of whole organs to single cells) and molecular classes (e.g., metabolites, lipids, proteins, RNA). Through the use of known markers that can be used to segment tissues, we correlate molecular information to specific functional tissue units and cell types, expanding upon the current knowledge of the normal phenotype of the human pancreas and eye. This effort requires the creation and integration of three capabilities to 1) procure and manage specimens, 2) prepare and mitigate pre-analytical factors, and 3) acquire, process, integrate, and disseminate multimodal imaging and large-scale omics data. The tissue atlases constructed as part of this project will provide a molecular and cellular baseline for normal tissue and will lay a critical foundation for future studies striving to understand the disease progression.