Is this your first time attending the Preclinical Imaging Consortium (PIC) Conference? This is a brief description of the format. Please keep an eye on the online program as we try to keep it up to date.

Conference location

The conference will held be at the Norris University Center at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. All events are at Norris except the gala dinner and optional imaging center tour.

Registration and sponsors

Registration is free for attendees from non-profit organizations, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors. Registration materials will be available from 15:45 – 16:45 on Sunday, April 28, in the lobby outside the Louis Room on the second floor of Norris University Center.
Vendors are welcome to start setting up at 15:00 on Sunday.

Gala Dinner and Reception

The gala dinner, generously sponsored by Bruker Biospin and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center will be at Smylie Brothers Brewing Co. in Evanston. Buses will be available to transport attendees from Norris University Center to Smylie Brothers. Smylie Brothers is a short walk from the Orrington Hotel, where many attendees will be staying.

Vendor “Booths”

Posters and vendor “booths” are in the Louis, Lake and Northwestern rooms in the Norris University Center. Unlike large conferences like WMIC, ISMRM, and RSNA, the vendors do not have enough space for demo equipment. This conference is designed to be smaller and more intimate. Presentations are in the Louis Room along with vendor “booths” for platinum sponsors. All attendees, including vendors, participate in the talks. Academic attendees are encouraged to talk to the vendors during the breaks. Therefore, the vendors should be near their tables during breaks (though this is not required).

Poster Sessions

There are three types of posters: Industry, Research, and Facility.

Industry posters can be strictly marketing or follow a more traditional conference scientific communication approach. The research posters are intended to communicate a research project that has a significant imaging component that was conducted in an imaging center. This year the Industry and Research poster session are combined during lunch time on Monday, and during this session, all presenters except those with facility posters should attend their posters.

The facility posters are intended to communicate what equipment and services are available in each imaging facility. The facility poster session will be held Monday evening, and facility poster presenters should attend their posters for at least part of the evening.
New this year, you will be able to vote for your favorite Research and Facility posters. The winner will receive a prize that has origins in Chicago.

Breakout Session

Also new this year, there will be a breakout session. One of the advantages of PIC is the emphasis on imaging centers, not just people who are imaging experts. Sharing best practices and solutions to common problems in imaging facilities is at the core of the success of PIC conferences. The breakout session will have 11 groups with one topic per group. Groups will discuss their topic for 20 minutes, and write ideas on a posterboard. At the conclusion of the discussion period, one representative for each group will bring their posterboard to the front of the room and spend 5-6 minutes reporting the group’s recommendations and solutions. Topics will be of general interest to the audience, such as: “What are best practices for onboarding new employees into imaging facilities?”

New Facility Talks

PIC originated as a small group of imaging facility directors meeting each other to share information about which university has which equipment and services. Although the meeting has taken on a broader scope since that time, attendees from imaging centers that have not previously been represented at PIC are encouraged to give an 8 minute presentation to quickly communicate the equipment and services they offer.

Facility Tours

Each host of PIC has the opportunity to showcase their facilities. This year, you will have the option to tour the Center for Advanced Molecular Imaging. CAMI is located in Silverman Hall, which is a short walk from Norris Center. Signup sheets for specific time slots will be located at the registration table.

Roundtable and Exit Meetings (invitation only)

PIC is grounded in the spirit of sharing solutions to common problems and best practices in imaging facilities. As such, there is an invitation only roundtable discussion for imaging center directors and managers, which provides the opportunity for an open and candid dialog in a more intimate setting. Attendance at the roundtable discussion is by invitation only, and is limited to facility directors and managers. If you are interested in attending in future years, please contact a member of the program committee.

The exit meeting, also by invitation only, is intended to facilitate transfer of information from the current host to the next host, and to initiate planning for the next year’s meeting. If you are interested in hosting PIC in the future, contact Chad Haney for information about the Program Committee exit meeting.