Biomedical Research & Innovation Center (BRIC)

ABOUT BRIC

Jefferson Lab established the Biomedical Research & Innovation Center (BRIC) as a central hub for transitioning state-of-the-art research and technology development from nuclear and particle physics to biological and health-related fields, including: novel cancer treatments, medical imaging, environmental, plant biology, and radiation detection and therapy. Our researchers partner with industry, academia and healthcare organizations to identify instrumentation needs that can enhance research and patient care, or fill technology gaps.

BRIC collaborates with private and public sector partners to develop new devices and systems based on our expert knowledge of particle accelerators and detectors. We engage with community organizations on data-driven research and advanced predictive analytics to facilitate better health outcomes. Several innovations from Jefferson Lab researchers are in use today for cancer treatment and diagnosis, among other applications. BRIC also facilitates special events, colloquia, and workshops on various topics, including serving as host for the joint NIH/DOE series "Advancing Medical Care Through Discovery in the Physical Sciences. Keep up with recent BRIC news here.

LEADERSHIP

Thia Keppel, Co-Director
Associate Director for Experimental Nuclear Physics

Drew Weisenberger, Co-Director
Radiation Detector and Imaging Group Leader

GET INVOLVED

Workshops
Check out our past events.
Collaborative Research
To discuss opportunities for joint research and institutional partnerships, please contact our Research and Technology Partnerships Office.
Team
Get to know the team of researchers at Jefferson Lab.
Innovations
Learn more about technologies and applications of Jefferson Lab science.

CONTACT

Email the BRIC team: bricinfo@jlab.org to learn more, connect with system and subject matter experts, or to explore partnership opportunities.

BRIC NEWS		INNOVATIONS
October 1st, 2024 - Harnessing Protons to Treat Cancer DOE tasks a Jefferson Lab team to evaluate whether proton therapy cancer treatments may serve as a safer alternative to treatments using radioactive isotopes. Cameron Clarke in the Radiation Detector and Imaging group, as part of the Biomedical Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) is launching a study into how best to advance different types of radiation therapy. To read the press release, see here.		Compact Accelerator partnership opportunities Accelerator scientists and engineers at Jefferson Lab are working to develop compact accelerators to enable the deployment of particle accelerators like the one powering Jefferson Lab’s CEBAF to help solve many pressing issues, including wastewater treatment, medical equipment sterilization, and more. There are many opportunities for partnership and collaboration to develop the next generation components of compact accelerators, including contact conduction cryo-coolers to reduce the reliance on liquid helium coolant, magnetrons for mobile RF power supplies, novel super-conductor formulations, and many more. Read more here about this DOE funded "Accelerate" project.
July 3rd, 2024 - Supporting Plant Biology Research at UCSC and Stanford The Radiation Detector and Imaging Group visited Stanford University to deploy its PhytoPET detector system in support of research led by University of California, Santa Cruz biological imaging and radiation detection researcher Shiva Abbaszadeh. The detector system is being used to support imaging of the root systems of plants and ongoing plant biology research at UC Santa Cruz. PhytoPET is composed of modular gamma-ray imaging detectors to allow for a variety of geometries to accommodate various shaped plants. To read more about the lab’s work in plant biology imaging, click here.		Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) serves as a test site and replica for the CEBAF polarized source and electron beam injector. The UITF is currently housing a prototype SRF Cavity for testing and is available for user proposed experiments, subject to Physics Advisory Committee (PAC) approval, and internal JLab research and development proposals, subject to Experiment Readiness Reviews (ERR). The BeamNet US program within DOE ARDAP provides an experiment proposal review process and funding support for several weeks of approved projects per year. To read more about the UITF and its capabilities, click here.
June 6th, 2024 - Prototype PET system tests in Baltimore The Radiation Detector and Imaging Group visited the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore to perform tests of its prototype streaming-readout positron emission tomography (PET) detector system with radioactive isotope-filled phantoms. The PET detector system is based on a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) scintillator detector readout by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that sends all triggered events over the network to a data acquisition system and offline PET coincidence analysis machine. Using the school’s sources and phantoms, the PET detector system was compared with its Siemens Inveon small animal PET/CT preclinical scanner. To read more about the lab’s work in pre-clinical imaging, click here.		Accelerators and Detectors for Proton Therapy and Imaging Capabilities Scientists at Jefferson Lab have been and continue to be involved in medical imaging with proton beams. Todd Satogata, the director of the Center for Advanced Studies of Accelerators (CASA), has studied the accelerator side of developing proton computed tomography (pCT). Thia Keppel, the Associate Director of Nuclear Physics at Jefferson Lab and co-director of BRIC, founded the Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute (HUPCI), a medical center focused on technology development for nuclear medicine, radiation therapy and other medical applications. Eric Christy, a staff scientist and deputy group leader of the Radiation Detector and Imaging group at JLab, is developing micro-pattern gaseous detectors (MPGDs) for proton radiography and computed tomography to be tested with the Leo Cancer Care Marie Chair treatment platform at HUPCI.
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