Project Grant R21NS151262

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke awarded Emory University $195,625 on September 1, 2026, under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853) to develop a human schwannoma-on-chip platform for real-time monitoring of tumor-nerve interactions.

Schwannomatosis is a rare neurological disease characterized by peripheral nerve tumors that cause debilitating pain and progressive neurological deficits, with current treatment limited to surgical resection and pain management. The project addresses the lack of effective preclinical models that capture the critical tumor-nerve interface and allow assessment of therapeutic selectivity—the ability to kill the tumor while protecting the adjacent nerve. The platform will integrate patient-derived tumor spheroids with functional peripheral nerve components under physiologically relevant flow and geometric conditions. Preliminary work successfully generated and validated 3D schwannoma spheroids replicating patient tumor characteristics under defined genetic conditions but lacked crucial tumor-nerve interaction. The funded work will design, fabricate, and optimize the schwannoma-on-chip platform to recapitulate the human tumor-nerve interface and enable identification of high-efficacy therapeutics while pinpointing optimal therapeutic windows.

Work is performed in Atlanta, Georgia. The award period runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.