Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Oregon State University received a $408,375 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), effective March 1, 2026 through February 29, 2028. The award funds development and optimization of Thermal Ink Jet Spray (TIJ Spray), a novel ionization source technology designed to enable direct injection of low-input samples, including individual cells, into mass spectrometers for multi-omics analysis. When integrated with ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS) and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometers, TIJ Spray is intended to provide the necessary throughput, sensitivity, and specificity for detecting and characterizing cell type heterogeneity and drug response based on molecular ion profiles.

The project deliverables include development and technical optimization of TIJ Spray in conjunction with IMMS systems, with analytical demonstration across multiple analyte classes relevant to single-cell analysis. The research will characterize proteome and metabolome profiles of individual cells to reveal functional phenotype heterogeneity, with particular application to understanding tumor microenvironments and discovering phenotype-specific biomarkers. This high-risk/high-reward initiative addresses a critical gap in current analytical capabilities where distinct cellular phenotypes are masked in bulk population analyses, thereby confounding drug discovery and biomarker validation efforts.