Personalized T-cell therapy for glioblastoma using heat-activated nanoparticles
Official title: Engineered Glioblastoma-specific T cells using Immunostimulatory Photothermal Nanoparticles
Funded at Immunoblue, LLC · NIH-11315832 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work makes a personalized T-cell treatment that uses nanoparticles and heat to help your own immune cells target glioblastoma after surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Immunoblue, LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bethesda, United States) |
| Project start | September 3, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,135,290 |
| NIH project number | 2R42CA287488-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11315832 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with glioblastoma who can undergo surgical tumor removal, can provide tumor tissue and blood, and are able to have an Ommaya reservoir placed for adjuvant infusion.
✕Less likely to help
People who cannot have tumor resection, cannot provide usable tumor tissue or blood, are medically unable to receive intratumoral infusions, or have very rapidly progressing disease may not be eligible or benefit.
What this research studies
If you have surgery to remove a glioblastoma tumor, the team treats a sample of your tumor with Prussian blue nanoparticles and light to trigger release of tumor bits that stimulate the immune system. Those tumor-derived antigens are used with your own dendritic cells to grow personalized IB-T cells from your blood. The plan is to give these IB-T cells back into the tumor cavity through an Ommaya reservoir after standard surgery as an additional (adjuvant) therapy. Early Phase I work showed the approach is feasible using patient tumor and blood samples, and this project aims to move the therapy closer to broader clinical use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower the chance of tumor return and improve outcomes by training your own T cells to recognize many of your tumor's targets.
How similar studies have gone: Other personalized T-cell and CAR-T approaches for glioblastoma have shown limited but promising results in small trials, while the photothermal nanoparticle activation approach is relatively new with early feasibility data.
Where this research is happening
-
Immunoblue, LLC
Bethesda, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sweeney, Elizabeth E — Immunoblue, LLC
- Study coordinator: Sweeney, Elizabeth E
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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.