CUBRIC

For the Serbian surname, see Čubrić.
Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre
The CUBRIC building at sunset
Other name
CUBRIC
Cost of Construction£44,000,000 [1]
ArchitectIBI Group[1]
ContractorBAM Construction[1]
TypeBrain Imaging Centre
Established2006
Parent institution
Cardiff University
DirectorProf. Derek Jones [1]
Address
Maindy Road, Cardiff
,
Cardiff, Wales
,
CF24 4HQ
,
United Kingdom

51°29′34″N 3°11′4″W / 51.49278°N 3.18444°W / 51.49278; -3.18444
WebsiteCUBRIC - Cardiff University

The Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) is a brain imaging centre, part of Cardiff University's Science and Innovation Campus in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.[2] When it expanded in 2016, it was considered the most advanced brain imaging centre in Europe.[3][4]

Building

Construction

CUBRIC was established in the Cathays Park campus of Cardiff University in 2006, and moved to a new building in the Maindy Park campus in June 2016.[2][5][6] The new building was constructed on old railway land, with the railway aiding in the delivery of the larger scanners.[7][8] It cost £44,000,000, partially funded by Cardiff University, and partially by the Welsh Government.[7] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 June 2016.[7]

Awards

The new building was awarded the title of Life Science Research Building 2017 by the UK Science Park Association. It also received the "Project of the Year" and "Design Through Innovation" awards from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors,[9] who praised it for its "precise and beautifully detailed multi-sensory design".[10] It was also a contender for the National Eisteddfod of Wales Gold Medal for Architecture in 2017.[11] It has been designed to create a relaxing environment volunteers, with large windows and timber structures.[7][12]

Research

Cardiff University's School of Psychology created CUBRIC to facilitate interdisciplinary brain research, using multiple neuroimaging machines and laboratory techniques. The centre houses:

A range of cognitive neuroscience studies are being carried out at CUBRIC, covering areas such as sleep research and curiosity research.[15] The centre aims to investigate neurological aspects of conditions such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia,[13][16] multiple sclerosis, and dementia.[5] One of the centre's first major research projects in the new building involved the study of Huntington's disease.[17]

The connectome scanner generates a map of the axons in white matter, connections of the brain, by measuring the nearby movement of water molecules to 1⁄1000 millimetre (3.9×10−5 in) precision.[3][18][19] Anomalous structures and changes to the brain's function, called biomarkers,[17] can be identified through comparison to scans of healthy brains.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) | Cardiff University". cardiff.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Her Majesty The Queen Opens Innovative CUBRIC Building". IBI Group. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Cardiff University's Cubric brain image centre milestone". BBC News Wales. BBC. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  4. ^ "£44m brain imaging centre opens in Cardiff | Wellcome". wellcome.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  5. ^ a b Evans, Gareth (28 October 2014). "Work begins on Cardiff University's new £44m brain imaging centre". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Major milestone for new £44m brain imaging centre". cardiff.ac.uk. Cardiff University. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d "Queen opens top brain imaging centre". BBC News. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  8. ^ Psychology, Cardiff University (2 November 2015). "CUBRIC 7 Tesla Magnet Delivery, 31st October 2015". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2019-09-19. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Cardiff University Awarded for World Class Research Building". IBI Group. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Uni brain scan centre wins design award". BBC News. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  11. ^ Braidwood, Ella. "Winner of Wales's best building announced". Architects Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  12. ^ "Levolux gets the all clear in Cardiff". specificationonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  13. ^ a b c d Freeman, Tami (13 November 2012). "CUBRIC: a focus on brain research". medicalphysicsweb.org. IOP Publishing. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Buildings that inspire category: award winner and runners up". The Guardian. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  15. ^ Cardiff University. "Cognitive Neuroscience at CUBRIC".
  16. ^ "Advanced MRI scans could help predict people at risk of schizophrenia". medicalxpress.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  17. ^ a b "CUBRIC enters its first multi-center Phase 1 Clinical Trial for treatment of Huntington's Disease". sites.cardiff.ac.uk/cubric. Cardiff University. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  18. ^ "World's most detailed scan of the human brain shows how information travels". 9news.com.au. Nine Digital. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  19. ^ Cashin-Garbutt, April (5 September 2016). "Neuroimaging: an insight into psychiatric causes? An interview with Dr Craig Buckley". News-medical.net. AZO Network. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  20. ^ Scott, Tom; Jones, Derek (24 July 2017). Connectome Scanning: Looking at the Brain's Wiring (video). YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  21. ^ Walsh, Fergus (2017-07-03). "What the brain's wiring looks like". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-07-29.