# TR&D 4: Revealing Microstructure: Biophysical modeling and validation for discovery and clinical care

> **NIH NIH P41** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $210,148

## Abstract

TRD4 Project Summary 
 The broad mission of our Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R) is to bring 
together collaborative translational research teams for the development of high-impact biomedical imaging 
technologies, with the ultimate goal of changing day-to-day clinical practice. With the other three Technology 
Research and development (TR&D) Projects in our Center focused on generating rich, quantitative data 
streams, a key question remains: What do these data streams really mean at the level of tissue function? 
Answering such a question requires bridging spatial scales from the macroscopic (millimeter) dimensions of 
image voxels to the mesoscopic (micrometer) dimensions of cells, where many disease processes originate. 
An ability to map cellular-level biophysical parameters would open new productive avenues for both clinical 
applications and basic research. In TR&D Project 4, we will integrate tissue microstructure mapping into 
comprehensive image acquisitions, to achieve specificity to tissue changes at the cellular level, for 
understanding physiology and pathology, for earliest disease detection, for monitoring of disease progression, 
and for quantification of treatment efficacy. The overarching goal of this project is to transform MRI from an 
imaging device to an accurate and precise scientific instrument for measuring microstructural tissue 
parameters. Our Specific Aims are 1) To establish the underlying biophysical information content of MRI data, 
using methods from mesoscopic physics; 2) To develop and validate biophysical models for the microstructure 
of brain, muscle, and cancer tissues, which may be used to convert image data to microstructural maps in 
patients with neurological, musculoskeletal, or oncologic disorders; and 3) To translate these modeling and 
mapping approaches into clinical practice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246950
- **Project number:** 5P41EB017183-08
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Dmitry S Novikov
- **Activity code:** P41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $210,148
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-09-30 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246950

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246950, TR&D 4: Revealing Microstructure: Biophysical modeling and validation for discovery and clinical care (5P41EB017183-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246950. Licensed CC0.

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