LF-TIMING: Large-scale profiling of cell-cell interactions with label-free imaging
Official title: LF-TIMING: Large-scale label-free profiling of cell-cell interactions
Funded at Cellchorus INC. · NIH-11381696 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new high-throughput method to map how immune cells talk to tumor cells and how they move, contact, and kill targets without using labels.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cellchorus INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 8, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,021,147 |
| NIH project number | 5R42TR005299-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11381696 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable for direct patient participation in this basic research grant.
✕Less likely to help
This grant does not involve direct patient participation or a clinical trial.
What this research studies
This project aims to develop technologies that quantify how immune and tumor cells interact on a large scale. It builds on the TIMING assay to track contact patterns, movement, cell death, and target cell killing in real time. The goal is to enable measuring multiple investigational probes at once by freeing fluorescence channels, improving insights into how therapies might influence cell interactions in a patient-friendly way.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could accelerate the development of immune-based cancer therapies by providing richer, label-free data on how cells behave together.
How similar studies have gone: Past TIMING-based approaches showed promise in mapping immune-tumor interactions, supporting the potential of this expansion.
Where this research is happening
-
Cellchorus INC.
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Berdeaux, Rebecca L — Cellchorus INC.
- Study coordinator: Berdeaux, Rebecca L
Related research
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Profiling how immune cells interact with tumor cells
This study is testing a new way to look at how immune cells and tumor cells interact, which could help us understand cancer better and improve treatments for patients like you.
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.