UCLA program developing new treatments for brain tumors
Official title: UCLA SPORE in Brain Cancer
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11210549 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program will combine immune-based therapies and engineered CAR-T cells to try to help people with aggressive brain tumors like glioblastoma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | August 11, 2017 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $86,121 |
| NIH project number | 3P50CA211015-09S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11210549 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with high-grade or recurrent brain tumors such as glioblastoma who can travel to UCLA and are medically able to receive immunotherapy or cell-based treatments.
✕Less likely to help
People with low-grade brain tumors, non-tumor neurological conditions, or who are medically ineligible for immunotherapy or unable to travel to UCLA may not be eligible or benefit directly.
What this research studies
At UCLA, researchers are running linked lab and clinical projects to learn why brain tumors become resistant to treatment and how to overcome that resistance. They plan to test dendritic-cell vaccines and drugs that block immune-suppressing signals, study ways to restore tumor cell death pathways, and develop CAR-T cell approaches that target both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. Work includes lab studies using tumor samples and preclinical models to guide new combination therapies and clinical studies where patients may receive experimental immunotherapies at UCLA. The team aims to find treatment combinations that produce longer-lasting responses and reduce the chance that tumors stop responding.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this program could yield new combination immunotherapies and cell therapies that control brain tumors better and reduce treatment resistance.
How similar studies have gone: Early-phase trials of vaccines, checkpoint inhibitors, and CAR-T cells in brain tumors have shown limited but encouraging results, making this combined, multi-pronged approach relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Liau, Linda M — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Liau, Linda M
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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.