Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Albert Einstein College of Medicine received a $695,154 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393), awarded July 1, 2026, with a completion date of June 30, 2031. The grant funds research investigating inter-individual phenotypes of cancer gene mutation susceptibility in the human airway. The project will employ single-molecule mutation sequencing (SMM-Seq) technology to assess somatic mutations—specifically single nucleotide variants (SNVs), insertions/deletions (indels), and structural variants (SVs)—in cancer-relevant genes across individuals with varying tobacco smoke exposure. The research aims to define mutability phenotypes and characterize how variations in genome maintenance mechanisms (DNA repair, mutagen detoxification, and related factors) influence differential mutation accumulation and lung cancer susceptibility.

The project will deliver mechanistic research outputs contributing to the NCI's cancer cause and prevention research portfolio, with particular focus on identifying genomic risk factors and biological mechanisms underlying early lung carcinogenesis. By analyzing bronchial basal cells across smokers and non-smokers, the research will provide greater precision in linking genomic alterations to individual cancer risk compared to conventional global mutation burden analyses. Findings are expected to advance understanding of how inter-individual differences in mutation susceptibility influence susceptibility to tobacco smoke-induced lung cancer and may inform cancer prevention and risk stratification strategies.