{"646122":{"#nid":"646122","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Wellcome Leap Grant Funds Work to Create Human Immune Responses","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, led by bioengineer \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/singhlab.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAnkur Singh\u003C\/a\u003E, has been awarded a multi-million-dollar, multi-year award from \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWellcome Leap\u003C\/a\u003E as part of the nonprofit\u0026rsquo;s international $50 million Human Organs, Physiology, and Engineering (HOPE) program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This is a game-changer opportunity, where a unique class of engineers from interdisciplinary backgrounds challenge the status quo as champions of innovation,\u0026rdquo; Singh said. \u0026ldquo;We each have a specific area of expertise, and without this kind of cohesive collaboration, it would be difficult to achieve our big picture goals.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESingh is an associate professor with a joint appointment in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. He heads up a multidisciplinary investigative team that includes \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/people\/leadership\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAndr\u0026eacute;s Garc\u0026iacute;a\u003C\/a\u003E, executive director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Krishnendu-Roy\u0022\u003EKrishnendu Roy\u003C\/a\u003E, director of the NSF Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Ahmet-F-Coskun\u0022\u003EAhmet Coskun\u003C\/a\u003E, assistant professor in BME; and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/med.emory.edu\/departments\/microbiology-immunology\/research\/labs\/boss-jeremy\/index.html\u0022\u003EJeremy Boss\u003C\/a\u003E, chair of Emory\u0026rsquo;s Department of Microbiology and Immunology.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor many life-threatening infectious diseases, like tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria, effective vaccinations are still lacking, noted Singh, a Woodruff Faculty Fellow.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;There are numerous challenges in understanding disease transmission, pathology and developing new vaccines, including a limited understanding of immune correlates of protection, identification of viable vaccine candidates, and off-target effects that must be evaluated in staged clinical trials,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo his research team aims to develop multi-organ platforms that recreate human immunological responses observed in vaccination studies.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m excited about this highly innovative project involving a phenomenal research team and advanced technologies,\u0026rdquo; Garc\u0026iacute;a said. \u0026ldquo;The engineering of complex in vitro microfluidic tissue-on-a-chip models that faithfully recapitulate functions of lymphoid tissues will have transformative impact in the field in generating new knowledge and advancing therapies.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWellcome Leap\u003C\/a\u003E was established to build bold, unconventional programs and fund them at scale \u0026ndash; programs that aim to deliver breakthroughs in human health over 5 to 10 years and demonstrate seemingly impossible results on seemingly impossible timelines.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELeap\u003C\/a\u003E is a U.S.-based nonprofit founded by the Wellcome Trust with an initial $300 million investment and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/darpa-model\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Emodeled\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;on the U.S. Department of Defense\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency\u0026nbsp;(DARPA). The \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/hope\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E$50M HOPE program\u003C\/a\u003E supports efforts\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;bioengineer human tissues, organoids, organs, and platforms that can be used to accelerate and scale new treatments for complex human health challenges\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHuman Organs, Physiology, and Engineering (HOPE) will focus on\u0026nbsp;two goals: creating a multi-organ platform that recreates human immunological responses with sufficient fidelity to double the predictive value of a preclinical trial with respect to the efficacy, toxicity, and immunogenicity of therapeutic interventions targeting cancer and autoimmune and infectious diseases; and demonstrating the advances needed to restore organ function using cultivated organs or biological\/synthetic hybrid systems that double the five-year survival rate of patients on replacement therapy or awaiting organ transplantation.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When our immune system encounters a new virus, it has a complex program in place to create highly selective, long-lived plasma cells that secrete antibodies,\u0026rdquo; Singh noted. \u0026ldquo;The technology developed through this project would enable a better understanding of those processes and potentially lead to groundbreaking new therapies.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech-Emory team receives multi-year funding in $50 million international effort targeting human immunology\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech-Emory team receives multi-year funding in $50 million international effort targeting human immunology"}],"uid":"27446","created_gmt":"2021-04-05 14:43:02","changed_gmt":"2021-04-05 14:59:59","author":"Joshua Stewart","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-04-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"646120":{"id":"646120","type":"image","title":"Ankur Singh","body":null,"created":"1617632915","gmt_created":"2021-04-05 14:28:35","changed":"1617632915","gmt_changed":"2021-04-05 14:28:35","alt":"Associate Professor Ankur Singh in his lab at the computer. (Photo: Ashley Ritchie)","file":{"fid":"245291","name":"Singh-Ankur-2021-by-Ashley-Ritchie-h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Singh-Ankur-2021-by-Ashley-Ritchie-h.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Singh-Ankur-2021-by-Ashley-Ritchie-h.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":260507,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Singh-Ankur-2021-by-Ashley-Ritchie-h.jpg?itok=ClDS0Zif"}}},"media_ids":["646120"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/wellcomeleap.org\/hope\/","title":"Wellcome Leap"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Ankur-Singh","title":"Ankur Singh"},{"url":"https:\/\/med.emory.edu\/departments\/microbiology-immunology\/research\/labs\/boss-jeremy\/index.html","title":"Jeremy Boss"},{"url":"https:\/\/ibb.gatech.edu\/people\/leadership","title":"Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Krishnendu-Roy","title":"Krishnendu Roy"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"},{"id":"108731","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"15184","name":"Ankur Singh"},{"id":"539","name":"Andres Garcia"},{"id":"12786","name":"Krishnendu Roy"},{"id":"186853","name":"Ahmet Coskun"},{"id":"187488","name":"Jeremy Boss"},{"id":"9316","name":"immune system"},{"id":"7360","name":"vaccination"},{"id":"187489","name":"Wellcome Leap"},{"id":"187490","name":"Wellcome Trust"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}