This $351,131 federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) supports research by the University of Miami to mechanistically dissect the signaling interactions between myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that contribute to chemotherapy and immunotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The goal is to uncover novel insights into the tumor-permissive and tolerogenic role of...
This Project Grant award, titled "A NOVEL IMMUNOTHERAPY FOR PANCREATIC CANCER USING MICRO-RNA-29A," was provided by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.398 - Cancer Research Manpower program) to the University of Miami in the amount of $107,948. The award will support research to determine the contribution of the TNFR2-miR-29a axis to CD8 T cell dysfunction in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), with the goal of generating durable T-cell mediated anti-tumor activity. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) provides $618,928.00 in funding to The Regents of the University of California, Berkeley to conduct research aimed at understanding the mechanisms by which regulatory T cells (Tregs) suppress antitumor immune responses within the tumor microenvironment and tumor-draining lymph nodes. The key goals are to decipher whether blocking Treg function in tumors is sufficient for tumor control, and to...
This $1,130,538 Project Grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) supports research to develop a targeted therapeutic strategy against metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using a newly developed anti-Tn (AREMAB6) monoclonal antibody. The key objectives are to: 1) determine how the Tn antigen enhances PDAC progression and identify Tn-expressing glycoproteins; 2) validate the role of natural killer cells in AREMAB6-mediated...
This federal Project Grant award of $269,280 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395), supports research to determine the biological effects and antitumor activity of a senescent cell-targeted antibody, SIWA318, in preclinical models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The research aims to evaluate whether depletion of senescent and pro-fibrotic cells in the PDAC tumor microenvironment can improve the efficacy of standard-of-care...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $674,275 in funding to Marker Therapeutics Inc., a small disadvantaged biotechnology company, to conduct a Phase 1 clinical study evaluating the safety and efficacy of their MT-601 multi-tumor associated antigen-specific T-cell therapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The study aims to assess the clinical outcomes of combining MT-601 with frontline FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy,...
This federal Project Grant award of $147,486, awarded on December 1, 2025 by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.398 Cancer Research Manpower program), supports research by Baylor College of Medicine to develop a novel "RECON" immune tolerization strategy. The goal is to investigate the trade-offs between oncogene pathogenicity and immunogenicity, which could enable dissection of the genetic and phenotypic alterations governing immune evasion independently of tumorigenesis during...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) provides $642,755 to The Institute For Cancer Research (ICR) to conduct research on targeting the protein Anoctamin 6 (ANO6) to disrupt the process of trogocytosis between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumor cells. The key objectives are to understand how ANO6 activity is regulated in the CAF-cancer cell interface, determine how blocking...
This Project Grant award, with a total funding of $138,742, was provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) federal grant program. The primary awardee, The Johns Hopkins University, will utilize single-cell RNA sequencing data to develop statistical methods for identifying cellular interactions that are altered by combination immunotherapy treatments in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Additionally, the award will support experiments...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $149,804 Project Grant under the Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) program to the University of Pittsburgh. The award will fund research to investigate the impact of the LAG3 protein on CD8+ T cell motility and migration in the context of cancer immunotherapy. The project aims to elucidate the mechanism by which LAG3 restricts T cell motility and determine if reduced motility impacts T cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. The...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.398 - Cancer Research Manpower) provides $356,732 to The Medical College of Wisconsin, Inc. to investigate the role of the CCR6 chemokine receptor and its ligand CCL20 in regulating the function of regulatory T cells (Tregs) within the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment. The objectives are to: 1) characterize the enhanced immunosuppressive capabilities of CCR6+ Tregs compared to CCR6- Tregs, 2) assess the effects of CCL20 on Treg function, 3) test the impact of CCR6-CCL20 signaling on pancreatic tumor progression and the tumor microenvironment using in vivo models, and 4) evaluate a novel CCR6 chemotaxis inhibitor compound as a potential therapeutic. This research aims to provide greater insight into Treg biology, the formation of the immunosuppressive pancreatic tumor microenvironment, and the efficacy of targeting the CCR6-CCL20 axis as an approach to enhance anti-tumor immunity. The award period runs from September 1, 2024 to April 14, 2028.