Houston Daily

The University of Houston has been awarded $3 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to establish a Cancer Immunotherapy Biomarker Core. This facility will be the first in Texas to offer targeted proteomics, enabling researchers to study thousands of proteins simultaneously at a reduced cost, partially subsidized by CPRIT funding.

Chandra Mohan, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering and project director, stated, “Identifying better biomarkers for cancer will accelerate early diagnosis and better prognostication of cancer, better monitoring of disease progression and treatment response possibly leading to the identification of better medications for treating cancer.” He emphasized that these advancements could lead to reduced cancer-associated morbidity and mortality.

Immunotherapy treats cancer by training the immune system to target cancer cells. Mohan noted that “cancer immunotherapy is experiencing a meteoric rise,” highlighting the need for new biomarkers that predict patient responses and identify optimal targets for treatment.

The CIBC will provide four unique platforms including an 11,000-plex targeted proteomic screen allowing comprehensive protein screening in body fluid samples. It also features a 21,000-plex protein array platform for assessing autoantibodies/ligands specificity against the human proteome.

The core aims to offer exploratory proteomic technologies for biomarker discovery, identify novel autoantibodies and neoantigens, and promote contemporary proteomic technology adoption among Texas researchers.

Mohan brings over two decades of expertise in diagnostic arrays engineering. Weiyi Peng, an immunologist and associate professor co-leading the CIBC with Mohan, directs the Drug Discovery Institute Immunology Core at UH. Claudia Neuhauser, University of Houston vice president for research said, “We are thrilled that Drs. Mohan and Peng received this award. The core is dedicated to immunology research which aligns with our research priorities.”

CPRIT's grant applications undergo rigorous peer review as part of its state-based initiative supporting cancer research.