Label-free optical imaging to quickly predict treatment response in patient tumor organoids
Official title: Functional optical imaging for rapid, label-free predictions of treatment response and clonal evolution in patient-derived cancer organoids
Funded at Morgridge Institute for Research, INC. · NIH-11473218 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses fast, label-free optical imaging on tiny, patient-grown tumor organoids to show which cancer treatments are most likely to work.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Morgridge Institute for Research, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $55,687 |
| NIH project number | 3R01CA272855-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11473218 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with solid tumors who can provide a biopsy or surgical sample so researchers can grow patient-derived organoids.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose cancers do not form organoids, those with blood cancers, or those needing immediate treatment without time for tissue processing may not benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will grow small, 3-D organoids from a patient's tumor tissue that keep the tumor's original cell types and structure. They will use label-free two-photon optical metabolic imaging to watch how individual organoids and their cell groups change after drug exposure over time. The team aims to make the imaging faster, cheaper, and easier to use so many samples can be tested and clonal (cell-lineage) changes tracked without fixing or staining the tissue. If successful, this could let doctors test multiple treatments on a patient's own tumor cells and identify therapies that stop resistant cell clones from growing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help pick more effective, personalized treatments faster and allow testing of more drug options on a patient's own tumor cells.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work by these groups has shown two-photon optical metabolic imaging can predict treatment response in some patients, but current systems are costly and low-throughput.
Where this research is happening
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Morgridge Institute for Research, INC.
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Skala, Melissa Caroline — Morgridge Institute for Research, INC.
- Study coordinator: Skala, Melissa Caroline
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.