Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) awarded the University of Illinois a $412,249 Project Grant effective June 5, 2026, through May 31, 2028, to develop precision liver cancer modeling through CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) editing of primary human hepatocytes. The research addresses critical limitations in current hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models by creating a versatile platform that recapitulates the molecular heterogeneity of human HCC through defined gene alterations. Rather than relying on existing cell lines with accumulated random mutations, the project introduces clinically relevant driver gene mutations—commonly observed in human HCC—into normal primary human hepatocytes to establish in vitro models representative of various tumor genetic profiles.

The deliverables include expansion of the initial modeling platform to capture broader molecular diversity by inducing combinations of gene alterations based on comprehensive analyses of HCC mutational landscapes and driver gene mutation co-occurrence patterns. This research aims to advance HCC therapy development by providing researchers with more accurate tools to test targeted therapeutic approaches and overcome current constraints in preclinical testing, particularly for locoregional therapies used in 50-60% of HCC cases. The project is conducted at the University of Illinois' Chicago location and represents a fundamental research contribution to developing improved cancer treatment methodologies within the Cancer Treatment Research program framework.