Junqian (Gordon) Xu, PhD, Awarded $150,000 Grant From Radiological Society of North American Research and Education Foundation
Grant will support development of more advanced imaging of the spinal chord.
Functional imaging for patients with spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative disorders has had definite limitations and has focused mainly on the cervical spinal cord.
A researcher with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Junqian (Gordon) Xu, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiology and the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, has been awarded a two-year, $150,000 Research Scholar Grant from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Research & Education Foundation. With this grant, Dr. Xu intends to develop a more reliable technique to provide images of the entire spinal cord and to develop protocols for more advanced applications of functional and diffusion MRI to not only more accurately diagnose spinal cord abnormalities, but also to provide better measures of prognosis and disease progression. The goal of the project is to extend beyond the cervical region to cover more of the entire spinal cord.
“Current quantitative functional MRI imaging studies do not define the full extent of spinal cord damage or quantitate residual spinal cord function,” said Dr. Xu. He hopes to overcome these limitations, permitting faster, more reliable assessments of tissue integrity and function for the entire spinal cord.For patients with spinal cord injuries, Dr. Xu explained that this would mean better assessments of how well rehabilitation programs and therapies are working. For patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, it potentially could better predict how a patient’s disease will progress.
Burton P. Drayer, MD, the Charles M. and Marilyn Newman Professor and Chair of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, praised Dr. Xu’s research. “The field of neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord injury would benefit from more reliable, faster, and comprehensive functional and structural imaging techniques, and Dr. Xu’s research will help advance these goals,” said Dr. Drayer.
Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, Professor of Radiology and Director of the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute (TMII), at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, complimented Dr. Xu for his award. “We at TMII strongly believe that the first step of a good therapy is a good diagnostic. We feel Dr. Xu work is contributing to this vision. We are grateful for the support of the RSNA which enables this work to be completed.”
About the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute
The Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute and the Department of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are advancing the science of imaging. Located in New York City, the Institute is applying imaging modalities in both preclinical and clinical research settings to improve diagnostic accuracy, to increase the understanding of disease pathophysiology and metabolism, and to measure therapeutic efficacy.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 47,000 employees working across seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and leading schools of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care from conception through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes more than 6,400 primary and specialty care physicians and 10 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals,” “Best in State Hospitals,” “World’s Best Hospitals,” and “Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2025-2026.
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