Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative
The Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative (TEC) Research Program supports the development and characterization of state-of-the-art biomimetic tissue-engineered technologies for cancer research. Collaborative, multidisciplinary projects that engage the fields of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, biomaterials, and bioengineering with cancer biology will be essential for generating novel experimental models that mimic cancer pathophysioogy to elucidate specific cancer phenomena that are otherwise difficult to examine in vivo. Project applications are invited through an NCI-supported funding opportunity announcement for R01 grants.
The Cancer TEC Research Program will catalyze the advancement of innovative, well characterized in vitro and ex vivo systems available for cancer research, expand the breadth of these systems to several cancer types, and promote the exploration of cancer phenomena with biomimetic tissue-engineered systems.
Investigators supported through the Cancer TEC Research Program will be affiliate members of the NCI Physical Sciences - Oncology Network, and opportunities for cross-program discussion and collaboration will be fostered through activities such as the annual Physical Sciences - Oncology Network Investigators’ Meeting.
Funding Opportunities
The Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative consists of specialized U01 and R01 research projects. For information on ongoing funding opportunities, reference the R01 announcement Cancer Tissue Engineering Collaborative: Enabling Biomimetic Tissue-Engineered Technologies for Cancer Research PAR-17-171.
Research project grants awarded by the U01 Announcement PAR-16-105 are listed below. This U01 funding opportunity expired on January 27, 2017, and has been replaced by R01 announcement PAR-17-171. Slides and frequently asked questions from the public pre-application webinar are now available.
| Institution | Principal Investigators | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| Boston University | Drs. Joe Tien and Celeste Nelson | Engineered Invasive Human Breast Tumors with Integrated Capilaries and Lymphatics |
| Brigham and Women’s Hospital | Drs. Ali Khademhosseini and Shiladitya Sengupta | Engineering Personalized Micro-Tumor Ecosystems |
| Cleveland Clinic | Drs. Emina Huang, Xiling Shen, & Michael Shuler | An Organotypic Model Recapitulating Colon Cancer Microenvironment and Metastasis |
| Harvard University | Drs. David Mooney, Jennifer Lewis, and F. Stephen Hodi | 3D Models of Immunotherapy |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Drs. Roger Kamm & David Barbie | Development of Physiologic Tissue Models to Assess Tumor Explant Response to Immune Checkpoint Blockade |
| University of Pittsburgh | Dr. Shilpa Sant | Three-Dimensional Organoid Models to Study Breast Cancer Progression |
| University of Wisconsin | Drs. Pamela Kreeger, Kristyn Masters, and Paul Campagnola | Engineered ECM platforms to analyze progression in high grade serous ovarian cancer |