Project Grant F32AI200412

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Vanderbilt University $152,600 on November 29, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for research on targeted delivery of STING agonists to regulatory T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

The project, designated F32AI200412, focuses on engineering a bispecific nanobody-STING agonist conjugate designed to selectively reprogram regulatory T cells to enhance anti-tumor immunity while minimizing systemic toxicity. The work addresses the limited efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapies in patients with immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments by leveraging a recently identified phenomenon: activating the STING pathway in regulatory T cells induces metabolic reprogramming toward an anti-tumor phenotype. The engineered conjugate incorporates a CTLA4-binding domain for treg-specific targeting and an albumin-binding domain to enhance pharmacokinetics and circulation time. Optimization efforts will assess therapeutic efficacy through functional and metabolic assays evaluating changes in regulatory T cell metabolism, immunosuppressive markers, and cytokine production.

Performance occurs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, with a period of performance from November 29, 2026, through November 28, 2028. This is a Project Grant assistance type.