Ultrasound-guided CAR T therapy for pediatric brain tumors
Focused Ultrasound and CAR T Cells for Pediatric Brain Malignancies
This project pairs focused ultrasound with CAR T immune cells to help them reach and kill medulloblastoma tumors in children and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Virginia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlottesville, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11300222 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would receive CAR T cells engineered to target tumor proteins while focused ultrasound is used briefly to open the blood–brain barrier at the tumor site. The ultrasound is noninvasive and aims to let more immune cells into the tumor without doing brain surgery. The team plans to target tumor markers such as B7‑H3 and monitor whether the combined approach increases immune cell infiltration and tumor response. The hope is to control tumors better while causing fewer long-term cognitive and systemic side effects than current treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Children and young adults with medulloblastoma—especially those with recurrent or treatment-resistant disease and tumors that express target antigens like B7‑H3—would be the main candidates.
Not a fit: Patients whose tumors do not express the chosen target antigen, who cannot tolerate cellular therapy, or who are ineligible for focused ultrasound would likely not benefit from this approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable safer, more effective immune-based treatments for medulloblastoma with reduced risk of cognitive damage from standard therapies.
How similar studies have performed: CAR T therapies have shown major success in some blood cancers and focused ultrasound has early promising results for opening the blood–brain barrier, but combining them for brain tumors is a novel and still largely unproven approach.
Where this research is happening
Charlottesville, United States
- University of Virginia — Charlottesville, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sheybani, Natasha Diba — University of Virginia
- Study coordinator: Sheybani, Natasha Diba
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 below.