# RR&D Senior Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL · 2021 · —

## Abstract

This Senior Research Career Scientist application is submitted to support the research of Dr.
Richard L. Lieber. Previous research, performed under VA support, has elucidated the
anatomical and biomechanical properties of human skeletal muscles that are used in tendon
transfer surgery. This surgery is used for patients with spinal cord injury and strokes to restore
function that has been lost after the injury. A functioning muscle is surgically moved to a new
position where function was lost. Biomechanical modeling is also used to develop quantitative
indices that allow surgeons to choose the remaining functioning muscle that is closest in
physiological properties to the one that has been lost. The result is improved patient function
after surgery and objective criteria for choice of surgical approach. Lieber’s group has also
developed a novel, intraoperative laser diffraction device that can measure the detailed,
microscopic properties of human muscles during surgery. This device works based on the
interference between laser light and the anisotropic protein bands within the muscle fibers
themselves. Since the spacing of these bands is related to muscle force, optical diffraction
from muscle fibers provides insights into muscle function in a way that does not damage the
fibers. These studies have not only revealed the normal operating range of many human
muscles but they have been used to discover previously unknown muscle properties that occur
after contracture. Muscle contractures, that may occur after stroke, head injury, spinal cord
injury or muscular dystrophy, can be painful, limit range of motion and are difficult and
expensive to treat. The muscle structural changes measured by Lieber and colleagues
indicate that “contractured muscle” is limited in its ability to grow both in the longitudinal
direction (limiting range of motion) and in the radial direction (limiting strength). Insights into
the biological basis for this growth limitation was recently revealed when these investigators
demonstrated that the muscle resident stem cell population was dramatically reduced in
contractures and that the remaining stem cells did not develop normally but remained in an
immature, hyperproliferative state. These observations have opened the way to a new line of
research using various FDA-approved drugs that affect stem cells and can be applied to novel
patient populations. In this way, rapid translation from laboratory to clinic can be made by
avoiding the many regulatory hurdles associated with new drug approval. Taken together, the
combination of anatomical, biomechanical and biological studies of human muscles has
benefitted our VA patients both in terms of surgical and medical treatment and now in terms of
making diagnoses and tracking therapeutic interventions. Future support is expected to
continue this trajectory as the VA investment in human research yields actionable outcomes
for clinicians treating these patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10041712
- **Project number:** 5IK6RX003351-02
- **Recipient organization:** EDWARD HINES JR VA HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard L. Lieber
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-11-01 → 2026-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10041712

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10041712, RR&D Senior Research Career Scientist Award Application (5IK6RX003351-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10041712. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*