Engineered aging environment to study cancer and drug responses
Official title: Engineered hybrid aging model for disease progression
Funded at University of Notre Dame · NIH-11323957 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aims to create aging-themed 3D tumor models using aged human tissue and cells to better study how aging affects cancer growth and treatment responses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Notre Dame NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Notre Dame, United States) |
| Project start | June 13, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $462,702 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA275423-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11323957 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with cancer, especially those whose tumors are influenced by aging tissues, and donors providing aged ECM and stromal cells.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose cancers do not depend on aging tissue or who cannot provide tissue samples may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project will build aging-aware, decellularized extracellular matrices from aged human tissue and pair them with patient-derived tumor organoids to create 3D tumor models. The team will first engineer an aged stroma using older donor material, then grow tumors on this aged background in the lab. After validating these models in vitro, they will implant the 3D tumors into immunodeficient mice to study how aging of the tissue environment influences tumor progression and drug efficacy. The goal is to improve preclinical models so that drugs that work in the lab more reliably translate to patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more accurate predictions of how aging affects cancer progression and how drugs perform in older patients.
How similar studies have gone: This approach builds on prior work with 3D tumor models and aging ECM, but the specific aged-dECM–based hybrid models in mice are novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zorlutuna, Pinar — University of Notre Dame
- Study coordinator: Zorlutuna, Pinar
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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.