A multidisciplinary team led by Candace Fleischer has received a $2.95 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Health to develop and then clinically validate a novel method for assessing human brain temperature. The project uses both a fully conserved biophysical model complemented by experimental measurements for absolute brain thermometry using magnetic resonance imaging. Following validation and model optimization, the team will apply the technology in the clinical setting to evaluate patients with chronic cerebrovascular disease, with the goal of developing brain temperature as a non-invasive prognostic tool that can help improve outcomes for patients with brain injury and illness.
Fleischer, associate professor of radiology and imaging sciences in the Emory School of Medicine, is joined by Andrei Fedorov, professor and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, Benjamin Risk, associate professor of biostatistics in the Rollins School of Public Health, Fadi Nahab, associate professor of neurology in the School of Medicine, and Jason W. Allen, chair of the Department of Radiology at Indiana University on this project, which builds on the team’s foundational work that won the Georgia CTSA Team Science Award of Distinction in 2024.