EVL Professors Liz Marai and Wei Tang Awarded NIH R21 for Lymphedema Detection

EVL Professor G. Elisabeta (Liz) Marai and Wei Tang has been awarded an NIH R21 from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) for Image-based Detection and Spatial Monitoring of Secondary Lymphedema in Head and Neck Cancer. EVL Associate Professor Wei Tang is co-investigator, and the project includes a subaward to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where David Fuller serves as MDACC PI.

Secondary lymphedema is one of the most significant survivorship morbidities in head and neck cancer, and there is no known cure. Today it is diagnosed primarily through physical evaluation, a process that is not standardized. This high risk, high reward project develops a first-in-class automated tool for detecting and measuring lymphedema, combining novel computer vision methodologies with smartphone instrumentation.

The NIH R21 mechanism supports exploratory and developmental research, making it well suited to work that pairs new perception and imaging methods with a clinical need that current practice does not adequately meet.

Congratulations to Liz, Wei, and the team!

Award Details

Sponsor: NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), R21 program
PI: G. Elisabeta Marai
Co-I: Wei Tang
Subaward: MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC PI: David Fuller)
Period: September 2026 to September 2028
Amount: $362,880