Project Grant R01FD003511

This $674,996 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) supports research by the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) to determine if targeting the PSGL-1 checkpoint inhibitor can promote the development and/or maintenance of CD8+ T cells essential for anti-tumor responses to PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. The key objectives are to evaluate if PSGL-1 blockade can generate or sustain tumor-specific...

This $270,981 federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398) will fund a 5-year research program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to study mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in hepatobiliary cancers and evaluate an anti-TIGIT antibody as a novel treatment. The research aims to: 1) Conduct a Phase 2 trial of an anti-TIGIT plus anti-PD-1 antibody regimen in hepatobiliary cancers refractory to PD-1...

This R01 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) for $1,419,108 supports research to advance the understanding of how a novel neoadjuvant therapy impacts the immune system in patients with solid tumors, using refractory melanoma as a model. The key objectives are to: Gain insight into how blocking the Semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) signaling pathway, when combined with immune checkpoint blockade, impacts the infiltration and function of...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 Cancer Biology Research) provides funding to the University of Pittsburgh to study the role of zinc metabolism and p16 loss in driving resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in melanoma. The $673,526 award, effective April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2030, aims to elucidate how p16 loss leads to increased zinc transporter SLC39A9 expression, sequestering zinc from the tumor microenvironment. This is hypothesized...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 Cancer Biology Research) will support research to investigate the role of natural killer (NK) cells in melanoma tumor invasion and immune evasion. The $217,863 award to the University of Colorado-Denver will use advanced techniques such as multiplexed immunohistochemistry, single-cell spatial transcriptomics, and patient-derived organoid models to evaluate how the KIR/HLA axis impacts the function of decidual-like NK...

This $3,510,000 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) supports research conducted by the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) to study novel mechanisms underlying the regulation and function of the key unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling component ATF4, and its impact on melanoma metastasis and resistance to therapy. The research aims to elucidate (1) how aging affects metabolic signaling and ATF4-dependent pro-...

This Project Grant award of $620,820 from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) is focused on investigating mechanisms of immune therapy resistance in cancer. The primary recipient, The General Hospital Corporation (dba Massachusetts General Hospital), is conducting research to understand how the transcription factor CREB5 drives tumor resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Specifically, the research aims to: 1) decipher the molecular mechanisms governing CREB5...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a 3-year, $183,398 Project Grant to The Ohio State University under the Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) program. The goal of the project is to elucidate the mechanisms by which tumor hypoxia (low oxygen) contributes to immune privilege and treatment resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors. The researchers will investigate the use of mitochondrial inhibitors, such as papaverine (PPV) and SMV-32, to reoxygenate the NSCLC tumor...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.393 - Cancer Cause and Prevention Research) provides $689,934 to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) to conduct research on the genetic factors underlying immune-related adverse events (IRAEs) associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) cancer treatments. The key objectives are to: 1) Perform the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of IRAEs across over 13,000 ICI-treated patients, to identify shared and...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) provides $712,735 to the University of Southern California to conduct a phase II clinical trial investigating the combination of the EphrinB2 inhibitor SEPHB4-HSA and the PD-1 antibody Pembrolizumab for the treatment of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The key objectives are to determine the clinical outcomes, pathological complete response rates, and recurrence-free...