This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant, awarded under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program (CFDA 47.070), provides $168,690 to the Florida Institute of Technology Inc. (Florida TECH) to develop a theragnostic (therapeutic + diagnostic) system for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The project aims to model the complex interplay of host, microbial, and environmental factors that trigger IBD using data science, and then leverage synthetic biology and...
This $149,403 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Program (CFDA 47.041) to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) aims to develop a "theragnostic" (therapeutic and diagnostic) system for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The project integrates data science, synthetic biology, and additive manufacturing to: 1) model the complex interactions between host, microbial, and environmental factors underlying...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), provides $858,460 to The Leland Stanford Junior University from September 15, 2024 to June 30, 2027. The research aims to develop effective approaches to systematically evaluate the genetic effects of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk variants on double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) editing....
This federal Project Grant award of $673,379 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), supports the development of a novel synthetic biology-based oral immunotherapy for treating ulcerative colitis. The goal is to develop "R-3750", an engineered Lactococcus lactis strain that expresses the anti-inflammatory surface layer protein A (SLPA), as a...
This federal Project Grant award, sponsored by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286), will develop a novel diagnostic technique to record and measure the gut microbiome using living biosensors. The total funding amount is $548,949.00, awarded on August 1, 2024, with an ultimate completion date of April 30, 2027. The grant will fund research at the...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), provides $233,600.00 to Baylor College of Medicine to conduct high-throughput functional analyses of genetic drivers of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The key objectives are to: 1) perform high-throughput screening and phenotypic characterization of IBD risk genes in C. elegans, a nematode...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under CFDA program 93.847 - Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research aims to improve the engraftment and therapeutic efficacy of the live biotherapeutic product E. coli Nissle 1917 (ECN) for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The $548,802 award to Ancilia Biosciences Inc. will fund research to engineer a CRISPR-Cas system that can provide ECN with...
This $498,064 Project Grant was awarded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847). The Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, a non-profit research organization, will conduct research to identify genetic variants that drive the pathogenic activity of T cells implicated in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). The research will utilize massively parallel...
This $1,806,252 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) under the "Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health" program (CFDA 93.286) aims to develop advanced MRI techniques to improve pediatric imaging for diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The key objectives are to: 1) Enable faster dynamic 2D imaging at higher spatial and temporal resolutions, 2) Develop free-breathing 3D...
This $1,428,890 federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), will fund a 5-year research effort led by Emory University. The project aims to evaluate the efficacy of a virtually delivered, heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback-enhanced coping skills treatment program for improving psychological and clinical outcomes in adolescents aged...
This $202,728 federal Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program funds a collaborative research project to develop a theragnostic (therapeutic and diagnostic) system for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
The project aims to integrate data science, synthetic biology, and additive manufacturing to model the complex interplay of host, microbial, and environmental factors in IBD, and develop an engineered bacteria-based theragnostic system that can be safely delivered to the gastrointestinal tract to detect and treat the disease. The research team will use data science to gain insights into IBD biomarkers and disease progression, synthetic biology to engineer bacteria to sense inflammatory markers and express anti-inflammatory agents, and additive manufacturing to develop a 3D-printed smart pill for targeted delivery of the theragnostic bacteria. This interdisciplinary approach is expected to result in an effective tool to help IBD patients control their symptoms and improve quality of life.