TIMING: AI-powered single-cell analysis to improve cell therapies
Official title: Integrated assays of single-cell dynamics and molecular phenotype for cell therapy manufacturing
Funded at Cellchorus INC. · NIH-11322109 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-facing platform using AI to understand how individual immune cells behave in real time during cell therapy manufacturing, helping create safer and more effective treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cellchorus INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 1, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,034,752 |
| NIH project number | 5R44TR005137-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11322109 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients receiving cell therapies or those who may be eligible for future trials of the refined manufacturing approaches.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose treatment products do not show the desired cell behaviors may not benefit from these specific manufacturing improvements.
What this research studies
This project develops an integrated, AI-assisted platform that analyzes single cells over time to reveal how cell therapies behave at the molecular and phenotypic level. By tracking thousands of cells in parallel with time-lapse imaging, researchers aim to predict which cell products are most likely to work well in patients. The work will refine lab protocols and reagents to identify key cell attributes and measure how these cells proliferate and respond. The goal is to enable better selection and quality control of cell therapies before they are given to patients, and to learn from patient samples to improve future treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this platform could lead to more effective, safer cell therapies with clearer indications of which products will work best for individual patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work validating single-cell and AI-assisted analyses supports the idea that detailed cell profiling can guide therapeutic development.
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
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
LF-TIMING: Large-scale profiling of cell-cell interactions with label-free imaging
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.
-
A new instrument to understand how immune cells work
This project is developing a special instrument that uses advanced imaging and AI to watch individual immune cells in action, helping us understand how they fight diseases like cancer.
-
Dynamic single-cell analysis instrument ready to help labs map how individual cells behave
Aimed at bringing Chronos™—a specialized single-cell timing instrument—into broader use so researchers can watch thousands of live cells and link their behavior to molecular data.
-
Understanding how immune cells behave to improve cell therapies
This study is working on a new way to closely watch and understand immune cells used in treatments, so we can see how they behave and grow, helping doctors predict how well these therapies might work for patients before they start.
-
Advanced Technology to Understand Immune Cell Behavior
This project is creating a new technology that uses advanced imaging and artificial intelligence to better understand how individual immune cells work and interact, which can help develop new treatments.
-
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.