Theodore Scott Nowicki, MD, a physician-scientist and assistant professor of pediatric hematology/oncology, microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, was awarded a Hero Grant from MIB Agents, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children and adolescents with osteosarcoma.
The award provides $100,000, the highest funding level awarded through the OutSmarting Osteosarcoma Program, and will support Nowicki’s research into developing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies for osteosarcoma, the most common osteosarcoma in children and adolescents.
CAR-T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that uses a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. This treatment works by collecting and genetically modifying T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. Although CAR-T therapy has had remarkable success in certain blood cancers, it is less effective against solid tumors such as osteosarcoma. This is because the environment surrounding the tumor may suppress immune activity, limiting the ability of treatments to eliminate cancer cells.
Nowicki’s research aims to overcome this challenge through a new “armed” CAR T platform that targets GD2, a protein commonly found in osteosarcoma cells. In addition to recognizing and attacking tumor cells, genetically engineered CAR-T cells are designed to increase the release of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), an immune signaling molecule that enhances anti-tumor responses within the tumor microenvironment and helps resist immune suppression. Importantly, TNF-α is secreted only in the presence of tumor cells, improving the product’s safety profile.
This grant will support the expansion of preclinical research evaluating the safety and efficacy of TNF-α-armed GD2 CAR-T cells in laboratory and animal models of osteosarcoma for future clinical trials. The researchers plan to compare this modified therapy with conventional GD2 CAR-T cells and investigate how TNF-α enhances anti-tumor activity within the tumor microenvironment. The research team also plans to use advanced molecular profiling techniques to better understand how treatments affect the interaction between cancer cells and the immune system.
“Patients with recurrent or metastatic osteosarcoma continue to face a poor prognosis with limited treatment options,” said Nowicki, who is also a member of the UCLA Health Johnson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA Broad Center for Stem Cell Research. “This funding will help advance promising new immunotherapy strategies that have the potential to improve outcomes while reducing reliance on toxic treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.”
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University of California, Los Angeles Health Sciences
