Nested partnerships and interdisciplinary science: From the National Medical Cyclotron to the research cyclotron of theNational Imaging Facility

摘要

In Australia, the routine use of medical isotopes produced by a prototype cyclotron for diagnostic imaging commenced in the early 1990s. Since then, the mainly clinically focused imaging in nuclear medicine has become a broader and more interdisciplinary endeavour. As 'molecular imaging', it has become a field that supports a wide range of basic, translational and clinical research and draws in skills from many areas, including physics, chemistry, engineering, biology and medicine. Such growth has been accompanied by the emergence of scientific collaborations well beyond individual institutions. This paper provides the historical context to the former National Medical Cyclotron (NMC) facility (1992-2009) at Camperdown, Sydney and the subsequent partnerships that led to its refurbishment as the new site of the National Imaging Facility (NIF) Cyclotron, a flagship research facility enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). It is now the centrepiece of a physical research infrastructure as well as a growing network of collaborations that open up access to medical isotopes for research and clinical applications across Australia to new users and applications. It is also a contemporary example of how science has moved from individual scholarly endeavour to highly networked activity. The funding model initiated through NCRIS included shared funding, funding leveraging and in-kind contributions primarily for the establishment of the large instrument and laboratory infrastructure rather than their operational costs. Here, we illustrate how partnership arrangements emerged at institutional, state and national level and how they address the task of providing open access to, and sustainable operation of, a major piece of research infrastructure that spans multiple institutions.