Radiology has a rich history of innovation and academic leadership at the University of California San Francisco. Significant advances in research by our department over the past decade have fostered new clinical, technical, and scientific developments in medical imaging and have garnered growing national acclaim for the quality and scope of our teaching, research and patient care programs. The Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging at China Basin Landing, adjacent to the UCSF Mission Bay campus, positions the department for even greater advances over the next decade.

The Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging (CMFI) came into existence at a time when our colleagues in molecular biology deciphered the human genome and began to unravel both its biological manifestations and the exciting medical implications of this knowledge. These fundamental discoveries compel us to explore and innovate new noninvasive imaging tools that allow us to discern processes at the cellular, molecular, and genetic level, tools that use imaging to gain new insights into fundamental biological principles, as well as the disease process, and to enable and monitor new therapies. The CMFI was conceived to coordinate and integrate these activities under one umbrella.