Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded the University of Virginia $161,500 under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) to develop innovative methodologies for classifying circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with hybrid epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The project, active from June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2028, delivers a perfusable co-culture system and microfluidic analytical platform designed to advance single-cell deformability metrics as a complementary approach to immunofluorescence imaging for detecting and characterizing heterogeneous hybrid CTCs. The research outputs include a validated co-culture system with cancer-associated fibroblasts capable of generating PDAC cells expressing progressive epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) states under controlled shear stress and hypoxia conditions, as well as microfluidic viscoelastic extensional flow systems equipped with standardized microgels for measuring single-cell deformation and recovery dynamics.

The deliverables further encompass machine learning classification models utilizing multilayer perceptron-based neural network approaches trained to establish non-linear relationships between cellular deformability metrics and EMT progression states. The project produces standardized heterogeneous CTC samples at physiologically relevant concentrations and matrices comparable to portal vein samples, enabling downstream biophysical classification and validation against immunological markers. These integrated tools and analytical frameworks are designed to provide prognostic information on disease progression, metastasis risk, and therapy response in PDAC patients, addressing significant clinical gaps in CTC detection and characterization beyond conventional immunofluorescence approaches.