Menu
Close
Funded Projects

UW Innovations in Malignancy Personalized Advanced Cell Therapies (UW-IMPACT)

Awarded in 2018
Collaborative Health Sciences Program
Updated Sep 14, 2023

At a Glance

Two incurable cancers, prostate cancer and pediatric neuroblastoma (a cancer often found in the adrenal glands) have high incidence rates in Wisconsin. This study will attempt to treat these cancers with an exciting new therapy approach using B-cells.

The Challenge

Prostate cancer and neuroblastoma have high incidence rates in adults and children, respectively, in Wisconsin. To address this, leaders in cancer immunotherapy and basic and translational cell technology are developing transformative innovations in the use of a patient’s own B-cells to treat cancer by initiating an anti-tumor immune response. This is the first study using B-cell therapy—discovered at UW–Madison—to treat cancer in humans.

Project Goals

This project aims to produce personalized cell therapies for otherwise incurable adult prostate and pediatric neuroblastoma malignancies. These discoveries may provide a new therapeutic approach to treating cancer. By translating these discoveries into treatments, the team hopes to improve cancer outcomes for the young and old in Wisconsin and beyond.

More about personalized cancer therapy

More Funded Projects

research icon: microscope and stethoscope
COVID-19 Response Grant

Predicting Patient Outcomes in Wisconsin and Nationwide Using the University of Wisconsin’s COVID-19 EHR Cohort Database

Year Awarded: 2022
Dr. Michael Fiore, professor of medicine and UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) director, and researchers at UW-CTRI are using a $300,000 COVID-19 Response Grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program to better understand the course, treatments and outcomes of COVID-19 and provide insights to improve the monitoring and treatment of future novel disease outbreaks. UW-CTRI has been leading the COVID Electronic Health Records (EHR) Cohort at the University of Wisconsin (CEC-UW). CEC-UW is using de-identified EHR data from COVID-19 patients across 21 participating health systems across the country, enabling the project to link demographic, medical history, and clinical data to COVID-19 severity and outcomes. A grant from the Wisconsin Partnership Program supports the analysis of data, including the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 among racial and ethnic minorities and vulnerable populations, comparing Wisconsin to the rest of the nation, including African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics and patients diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
community icon: shaking hands and group of people
Maternal and Child Health

Development of a OB Nurse Navigator Program in a Rural Critical Access Hospital

Year Awarded: 2022
St. Croix Regional Medical Center is using a Maternal and Child Health Grant for the project Development of an OB Nurse Navigator Program in a Rural Critical Access Hospital (St. Croix and surrounding counties); this project will create a comprehensive program to address patients’ prenatal and postpartum needs and provide social supports and resources for underserved families in this six-county rural area.