A bioengineered platform to make smart exosomes for delivering cancer drugs
Official title: A Convergent Bioengineered Platform for Multifunctional Therapeutic Exosomes
Funded at University of Notre Dame · NIH-11364097 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A NIH grant is funding a platform to produce and engineer exosomes that can carry cancer drugs directly to tumors, potentially improving treatment.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Notre Dame NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Notre Dame, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $385,600 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM150608-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11364097 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with cancers where targeted exosome-based therapies could be investigated in future trials.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with cancers not suitable for exosome-based delivery or with conditions not addressed by this platform may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to create a scalable, high-throughput system to manufacture and load therapeutic exosomes with drugs. Researchers will tailor exosome delivery for targeted cancer therapy and track where they go in the body. The work focuses on making exosomes safer and more effective than conventional drug carriers. If successful, it could enable personalized, precision medicine approaches for cancer treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could receive more effective cancer therapies with fewer side effects due to targeted delivery.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies show exosome-based delivery can improve drug pharmacokinetics and tumor targeting, supporting further development.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Yichun — University of Notre Dame
- Study coordinator: Wang, Yichun
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.