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Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), in partnership with Price College of Engineering, the Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies have selected six research teams to receive grants as part of a new interdisciplinary program.
The program, called Innovation in Cancer Engineering, aims to enhance cancer prevention, early detection, and clinical care through engineering approaches. Some of the projects selected involve targeted drug delivery, better cancer detection, and enhanced radiation treatments.
“With these awards, we are stimulating collaborations among our engineers and cancer researchers with the ultimate goal to find innovative engineering solutions to cancer problems. I’m excited to see what innovations will come from these new partnerships.”
Ramiro Garzon, MD
Chief of hematology and hematological malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute
The idea for the program originated during a 2023 networking event at the U, during which cancer researchers and engineers met and discussed interests. Organizers decided to keep the collaboration going by sending out a request for one-year pilot project proposals.
“There are spectacular opportunities in bringing medical and engineering research together to address health challenges. I am pleased with the new partnerships that were formed as we put together this program. In fact, there were so many good proposals that we ended up funding more of them than had originally been planned.”
Richard Brown, PhD
Outgoing dean for the Price College of Engineering
Reviewers selected six teams out of 17 sets of applicants. Each winning set of partners received $10,000-$40,000 in seed money to develop their ideas. The Department of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies and the Price College of Engineering each funded one award. The Department of Radiation Oncology and Huntsman Cancer Institute provided grant money for two projects. Grantees must provide periodic progress reports and present their findings at a future symposium.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this new initiative that brings so many different disciplines together to drive innovation in science and research. We hope to pursue similar collaborations in the future to produce new technologies to prevent, detect, and treat cancer to improve health and quality of life for many.”
Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA
Chief clinical officer and physician-in-chief at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the U
Awardees and their projects
“Targeted Drug Delivery for Effective Treatments of Brain Cancer”
Funded by: Price College of Engineering
“A Pilot Study for the Use of Electrical Bioimpedance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients”
Funded by: Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies
“Robust and Compact GaN Detectors for Proton Therapy”
Funded by: Department of Radiation Oncology
“Advancing Precision Medicine: The Role of Glomerulus-on-a-Chip in Addressing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Nephrotoxicity”
Funded by: Huntsman Cancer Institute
“Development and Validation of Microfluidics-based Bone Marrow-mimetic System for Culturing and High-Throughput Drug Screening in Pre-B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”
Funded by: Department of Radiation Oncology
“Detecting Lung Metastasis of Breast Cancer by Collagen Hybridization”
Funded by: Huntsman Cancer Institute
Media Contact
Heather Simonsen
Public Affairs Senior Manager
Huntsman Cancer Institute
801 581-3194
public.affairs@hci.utah.edu
About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah is the National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. With a legacy of innovative cancer research, groundbreaking discoveries, and world-class patient care, we are transforming the way cancer is understood, prevented, diagnosed, treated, and survived. Huntsman Cancer Institute focuses on delivering the most advanced cancer healing and prevention through scientific breakthroughs and cutting-edge technology to advance cancer treatments of the future beyond the standard of care today. We have more than 300 open clinical trials and 250 research teams studying cancer. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at Huntsman Cancer Institute than at any other cancer center. Our scientists are world-renowned for understanding how cancer begins and using that knowledge to develop innovative approaches to treat each patient’s unique disease. Huntsman Cancer Institute was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.