Project Grant F30CA306258

Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Miami's Office of Research Administration - School of Medicine Division received a $110,228 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398) awarded December 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for May 31, 2029. This award funds biomedical research training and workforce development focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) microenvironment remodeling. The project investigates how primary pancreatic cancers remodel their tumor microenvironment (TME) to facilitate metastatic outgrowth, addressing the critical public health challenge that PDAC is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States by 2030.

The research deliverables encompass two primary aims: (1) defining key histopathological, cellular, and immunological differences between primary and metastatic tumor microenvironments through analysis of human patient tissue samples, single-cell RNA sequencing datasets, and mouse model studies; and (2) evaluating the molecular mechanisms governing TME remodeling through genetic and pharmacological gain-and-loss-of-function studies. The project employs comparative analysis of fibroinflammatory signaling networks and stromal composition to identify how pancreatic cancers suppress inflammatory pathways to create immunodeficient microenvironments that promote distant metastatic growth, ultimately generating research findings to inform therapeutic interventions targeting this fundamental cancer progression mechanism.