# Sense-of-Scale: The use of mixed-scale systems for rare biomarker analysis

> **NIH NIH P41** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE · 2021 · $116,955

## Abstract

TITLE: Biotechnology Resource Center of BioModular Multi-scale Systems (CBM2) for Precision Medicine
Training and Dissemination: Sense-of-Scale: The use of mixed-scale systems for rare biomarker analysis
Abstract/Summary
The Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine (CBM2) seeks to develop innovative
mixed-scale tools for the analysis of liquid biopsy markers that aid in managing patients' diseases by identifying
appropriate clinical treatment strategies that benefit patients guided by the molecular composition of their
disease. This approach, known as ”Precision Medicine,” will be the focus of the Center's Training and
Dissemination (T&D) efforts by leveraging the compelling research taking place under the umbrella of the
Center's Technology Research and Development (TR&D) projects. The Center will participate in training and
educating patrons (i.e., non-Center affiliated researchers, collaborators, students, physicians, and potential
industry partners) on Center technologies, “How to Make It”, and “How to Use It.” Findings and discoveries
stemming from the TR&Ds will be efficiently disseminated into the scientific community and to physicians
involved in clinical research. CBM2 will take advantage of existing resources within the Center's affiliated
institutions (KU, UNC, and LSU) to familiarize the biomedical community with its extensive capabilities; an
example includes state-of-the-art nanofabrication resources located at all three campuses. Dissemination of
Center discoveries will be enhanced by compelling publications, patents, and the formation of startups around
Center IP. The Center will educate a non-scientific community on the subject of Precision Medicine and the
benefits it offers in terms of the improvement of patient care and disease management. Dissemination will follow
traditional routes and those not so traditional, such as publications and presentations at national/international
meetings as well as a robust website, social media, and online instructional videos. Our visiting scholar program
to engage non-affiliated researchers in the Center's TR&D projects will facilitate dissemination.
The common theme of the Center's T&D efforts will be, “Sense-of-Scale: the use of mixed-scale systems for rare
biomarker analysis”. CBM2's objectives in training will be to convey the message that biological systems (i.e.,
liquid biopsy markers such as cfDNA, miRNA, proteins, EVs, and cells) span many sizes and that biotechnology
research frequently involves experiments that must link different biological length scales together to realize the
delivery of effective integrated systems for their analysis. Training efforts will involve discussions on defining
research areas based on the characteristic size of the biological system of interest and time-scales of relevant
phenomena (i.e., reactions, separations, diffusion) under investigation. T&D events will seek to answer questions
related to differences between processes that ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10172704
- **Project number:** 2P41EB020594-07A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Allan Soper
- **Activity code:** P41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $116,955
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-09-16 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10172704

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10172704, Sense-of-Scale: The use of mixed-scale systems for rare biomarker analysis (2P41EB020594-07A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10172704. Licensed CC0.

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