Project Grant W81XWH2210639

This federal Project Grant award of $545,983 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) supports research to identify molecular regulators of interactions between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and the host immune system, with a focus on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The overarching goal is to understand how CTC clusters form and interact with immune cells, in order to develop new therapeutic approaches to block CTC-mediated...

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) awarded a $519,210 Project Grant under the Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health program (CFDA 93.286) to the Regents of the University of Michigan. The grant, effective September 1, 2024 through May 31, 2028, aims to develop nanoparticle strategies to reprogram innate immune cells and disrupt the metastatic niche in triple negative breast cancer. Key objectives include...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) supports the development of a CD4 TCR-engineered T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The award of $1,001,029.00 will fund the generation of a GMP-grade master cell bank and viral particles for the IMT-422 (CD4 TCR-STEM T cells) product, as well as the determination of its pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and toxicity. This work aims to accelerate the...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research program (CFDA 93.394), awarded a $654,681 Project Grant to Case Western Reserve University to develop innovative anticancer nanovaccines utilizing multifunctional ionizable lipid nanoparticles for the curative treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The key objectives of this 5-year project are to: 1) Design and develop multifunctional ionizable lipid nanoparticle-based peptide vaccines for...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $661,072 to Northwestern University to develop a first-in-class small molecule inhibitor targeting the USP22 oncoprotein for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer. The goal is to create a novel therapy with both immunotherapeutic and anti-cancer stem cell properties. The project involves a collaborative effort with the startup company Exomira Medicine Inc., which will receive a...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 Cancer Treatment Research) to the University of Wisconsin - Madison aims to develop multi-faceted strategies to enhance the treatment efficacy of a platelet-mediated immune checkpoint inhibitor delivery system (P-APDL1) against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The $619,764 award, effective January 10, 2025 through December 31, 2029, will fund research to: 1) increase tumor-selective accumulation of P-APDL1 by...

The National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) awarded The Johns Hopkins University a $630,781 Project Grant (R01CA293906) on April 25, 2025 to develop engineered lipid nanoparticle (LNP) and microgel matrix formulations to program Th1/Th2 immune responses for cancer immunotherapy. The key objectives are to: 1) develop mRNA LNP formulations capable of eliciting dual or biased Th1/Th2 immune responses using machine learning; 2) engineer mRNA LNP-loaded microgels as an...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $472,447 to Mayo Clinic to evaluate preclinical and clinical activity of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitors in combination with standard chemoimmunotherapy for treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The award aims to: Evaluate biomarkers and mechanisms of action of DNMT inhibitors in combination with paclitaxel and pembrolizumab in a Phase I clinical trial (NCT05673200)...

The National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395), awarded a $540,288 Project Grant to the University of Florida to research the role of bacterial-derived small molecules in improving the efficacy of immunotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The project aims to characterize a bacterial metabolite called BAC429, which has been shown to augment the anti-tumor effects of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in preclinical models. The research will...

This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $622,329 to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to develop an inhibitor called PDZ1I and evaluate its ability to prevent metastasis and sensitize triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) to chemotherapies. The award, which runs from August 2024 to July 2029, supports experiments to formulate PDZ1I into a nanocrystal (PDZ1I-nano) for clinical use, characterize how PDZ1I impacts the immune...