Federal Grant Award Summary

Georgia TECH Research Corp received a $212,297 Project Grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286), effective July 1, 2026 through March 31, 2029. This Trailblazer project delivers innovative stress-responsive protein sensors engineered to detect and respond to physiological stress states within solid tumor microenvironments, specifically targeting chronic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and persistent hypoxia as dynamic, tumor-specific control signals for therapeutic intervention.

The research generates two primary deliverables: (1) engineered oxygen-sensitive protein sensors capable of detecting hypoxia through high-throughput discovery and protein engineering assays, and (2) rewired native ER stress pathway sensors that achieve protein-level actuation. These sensors are integrated into functional logic-gated synthetic protein circuits composed of orthogonal proteases capable of Boolean logic integration, designed for mRNA delivery directly into tumor cells. The work establishes a modular, non-integrative platform that leverages synthetic biology to create compact, fast-acting therapeutic control systems tailored to tumor-specific stress signatures, thereby introducing a novel paradigm for precision cancer immunotherapy based on endogenous cellular stress responses.