ERC Consolidator Grant awarded to Prof. Julia Herzen

High-resolution images, particularly from bright X-ray sources known as synchrotrons, provide valuable information about the shape and structure of both tissue and material samples. However, until now it has not been possible to determine the exact composition, distribution, and amount of individual substances in the samples at such a high resolution, although such images theoretically contain this information. The images are produced by a combination of different physical effects, and it has not been possible to separate these effects in the image data. In the DEPICT project, Prof. Julia Herzen aims to develop a physical model that will allow these effects to be precisely separated from each other, thus maximizing the information contained in the measured data. She plans to further develop X-ray imaging at the micrometer scale and to transform it from a method for the purely optical evaluation of images into a quantitative method that generates specific figures on the composition of materials. In the project, she will then use the method to investigate biomedical, materials and environmental science questions.

Julia Herzen is Professor of Biomedical Imaging at TUM and conducts research at the Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering (MIBE).