Faster 3D/4D imaging to speed up testing of cancer drugs on tumor organoids
Official title: Ultrafast Dynamic contract optical coherence tomography for high-throughput anti-cancer drug screening
Funded at University of Oklahoma · NIH-11397215 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project builds a new, ultrafast label-free 4D imaging system with AI to watch how patient-like tumor organoids respond to cancer drugs, helping researchers find more promising treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Oklahoma NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Norman, United States) |
| Project start | February 15, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $171,613 |
| NIH project number | 5P20GM135009-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11397215 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with solid tumors who could donate tumor tissue for organoid creation or who want to be candidates for therapies developed from organoid-based drug screens would be most relevant.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without cancer or those who cannot or do not wish to provide tissue samples are unlikely to directly benefit from this lab-focused project.
What this research studies
This project is building a new imaging tool that can capture high-resolution 3D pictures of tumor organoids over time without special dyes. Researchers will grow organoids that mimic real tumors, expose them to anti-cancer drugs, and use Dynamic Contrast Optical Coherence Tomography plus AI to record and analyze responses across many samples quickly. The AI will help process the large imaging datasets to spot early signs of response or resistance. The aim is to make lab testing of drug candidates faster and more predictive so better therapies reach patients sooner.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help identify effective cancer drugs faster and reduce the number of ineffective candidates that reach costly clinical trials.
How similar studies have gone: Related organoid-based drug screens and optical imaging methods have shown promise, but combining ultrafast DyC-OCT with AI for high-throughput 4D organoid screening is a relatively new and largely untested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Oklahoma
Norman, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ling, Yuye — University of Oklahoma
- Study coordinator: Ling, Yuye
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.