Osimertinib resistance and brain metastasis in lung cancer
Official title: Establishing pre-clinical models of osimertinib resistance-mediated brain metastasis
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11285092 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant aims to create animal models of osimertinib resistance that spread to the brain in lung cancer, to help scientists understand why some patients stop responding and develop brain tumors.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $120,000 |
| NIH project number | 1R03OD039968-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11285092 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with non-small cell lung cancer who develop resistance to osimertinib and/or brain metastases.
✕Less likely to help
This basic research study does not directly enroll patients; however, it relies on patient tumor data for comparative analysis.
What this research studies
Researchers will build and study mouse models of lung cancer that become resistant to osimertinib and form brain metastases. They will use single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize how resistant tumors behave at the cellular level and compare findings with patient data. The work will connect patient tumor information with animal models to uncover shared pathways that drive resistance and spread, with the goal of identifying new targets for therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reveal why resistance occurs and point to new treatment strategies to prevent or treat brain metastases in NSCLC.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical models of targeted therapy resistance have informed treatment approaches in other cancers, but specific osimertinib-resistance brain metastasis models are not yet established.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wettersten, Hiromi Inoue — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Wettersten, Hiromi Inoue
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Nanoparticles that boost MRI to find tiny brain metastases
This uses tiny magnetic nanoparticles and new MRI image processing to help doctors find very small brain metastases earlier in people with cancer.
-
Prolactin signaling and brain metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer
Researchers are studying how prolactin signals help HER2-positive breast cancer cells grow in the brain, with the goal of finding new ideas to prevent brain metastases.
-
ATM kinase as a target to help NSCLC with brain metastases respond to treatment
A study from Yale University tests whether blocking ATM kinase can delay or overcome treatment resistance in people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain and other organs.
-
How an immune signal in brain support cells helps breast cancer spread to the brain
This project looks at whether a specific immune signal in brain support cells (astrocytes) helps breast cancer cells grow in the brain, aiming to help people with breast cancer that has spread to the brain.
-
Brain cancer cells and brain cells talk to each other to spread to the brain
A research project uses computer and mouse studies to understand how cancer cells that spread from breast or lung tumors grow in the brain and interact with brain support cells.
-
How brain support cells' recycling affects breast cancer spread to the brain
This project looks at whether blocking a cell-recycling process in brain support cells can prevent or slow breast cancer that spreads to the brain in people with breast cancer.
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.