3D-printed scaffolds to help tumor-seeking stem cells prevent brain tumor return after surgery
Official title: Harnessing Continuous Liquid Interface 3D Printing to Improve Tumor-homing Stem Cell Therapy for Post-surgical Brain Cancer
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11263704 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work uses custom 3D-printed scaffolds to help tumor-homing stem cells stay in the surgical cavity and deliver cancer-fighting therapy to people with glioblastoma after tumor removal.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2022 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $430,681 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA269974-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11263704 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideally this would help people with glioblastoma who undergo surgical tumor removal and could receive a scaffold-based stem cell therapy in the surgical cavity in future clinical trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with non-glioblastoma brain conditions, those who cannot have surgery, or those ineligible for stem-cell-based treatments would not be expected to benefit from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers are designing a range of tiny 3D-printed scaffolds with different shapes and materials using a high-resolution method called Continuous Liquid Interface Printing (CLIP). They will load these scaffolds with tumor-homing neural stem cells that carry anti-cancer genes and test how well the cells survive, move, and release therapy in lab dishes. The best scaffold features will be combined into a final design and tested in mouse models that mimic human glioblastoma surgery and recurrence. The goal is to find a scaffold that keeps therapeutic stem cells in place and improves their ability to stop tumors from coming back.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could lower the chance of glioblastoma returning after surgery by keeping therapeutic stem cells in the surgical cavity where they can kill leftover tumor cells.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory and animal work has shown that biocompatible matrices can improve stem cell persistence and reduce recurrence, but using high-resolution 3D-printed scaffolds for this purpose is still experimental.
Where this research is happening
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Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hingtgen, Shawn — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Hingtgen, Shawn
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.