University of Houston Gets $3M to Establish Biomarker Core for Cancer Immunotherapy

Texas’ Cancer Prevention & Research Institute has awarded $3 million to the University of Houston to establish a biomarker core for cancer immunotherapy. The research institute has earned a reputation for funding research projects which are groundbreaking. The $3m is a fraction of its $93m total package earmarked for awarding grants to entities within the state.

The biomarker core to be established is planned to be a cutting-edge facility in the state geared at availing researchers comprehensive biomarker screens for conducting proteomic cancer research, especially in the fields of cancer immunotherapy and cancer biology.

The new facility will be the first such facility within the state and it will facilitate targeted proteomics. This technique allows researchers to study thousands of proteins simultaneously. Access costs to the facility will be minimal as a result of the funding provided by CPRIT. Without this subsidization, the cost would be very high for many researchers that need to use this science.

Chandra Mohan, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., will co-head the new facility. He explains that when better biomarkers of cancer are identified, better prognostication and early diagnosis of cancer will be accelerated. Disease progression and treatment response will also be monitored a lot better, he added. Mohan says the facility could also pave the way for scientists to identify more efficacious cancer treatments. Over time, the work done at the new facility could lower the mortality and morbidity associated with cancer.

Mohan adds that there are meteoric advances being made in immunotherapy for cancer and further improvements require additional tissue and blood biomarkers which can help in several tasks, such as predicting the individuals likely to optimally respond to immunotherapy treatments available and enabling researchers to pinpoint novel immunotherapy targets.

The new facility will have four programs through which approximately 11,000 proteins will be screened from one sample of body fluid taken from a person. An array platform allowing for the analysis of 21,000 plex proteins will also make it possible for researchers to analyze ligands or autoantibodies in relation to the complete human proteome.

Among other objectives, the facility aims to promote and educate researchers in Texas to adopt current proteomic technologies in their work.

The UH community is hopeful that once operational, the new facility will mark a turning point in cancer research and patient outcomes. As these state-led efforts are accelerated, they come at a time when a number of private sector players like Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. (NYSE American: CLDI) are also making significant strides in their own efforts to advance cancer immunotherapy.

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