Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received a $207,802 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394) for the period May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2029. The award supports the development of multiplexed multiscale imaging technologies and automated analysis systems designed to advance cellular immunotherapy research. Specifically, the project will develop novel fluorescent probes capable of simultaneously visualizing multiple proteins in immune cells, tumor cells, and immune synapses at resolutions ranging from one micron to tens of nanometers. This advancement addresses critical limitations in current flow cytometry and cytotoxicity assays used in cellular immunotherapy research and development.

In parallel, the project will develop computer vision and machine learning-enabled automated microscopy systems capable of capturing population-level statistics about immune and tumor cell interactions while simultaneously acquiring high-resolution structural information about immune synapse formation and organization. These integrated technologies are intended to provide researchers with detailed insights into how synthetic receptors organize and regulate synapse formation—a critical factor in developing and evaluating effective cellular immunotherapy treatments that reprogram a patient's own immune cells to recognize and destroy tumor cells, particularly in hematopoietic malignancies and solid tumors.