This federal Project Grant award of $637,371 from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394) to Northwestern University will support the development of a first-in-class microfluidic cell sorting and culturing system for the rapid isolation and expansion of circulating tumor-reactive lymphocytes (CTRLs) from patient blood samples.
The key objectives are to engineer microfluidic devices that can rapidly isolate rare CTRLs directly from peripheral blood, characterize the isolated cells, and deploy an iterative design-build-test-learn cycle to enhance the enrichment and potency of the CTRLs. The project will also elucidate the tumor specificity, reactivity, and therapeutic potential of the expanded CTRLs, and evaluate their anti-tumor efficacy using patient-derived organoid models. This innovative technology has the potential to significantly impact the treatment of ovarian cancer by enabling a non-invasive approach to accessing and utilizing a patient's own tumor-reactive immune cells for second-line immunotherapy. The award period runs from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2029.
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