# The cell and gene therapy toolkit for junior faculty

> **NIH NIH UE5** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $338,745

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
To meet the need for a cancer research workforce in rapidly emerging areas of cancer therapeutics, we
propose a short course in the science and translation of cell and gene therapy. Our objective is to train a cadre
of junior faculty level NCI-funded investigators in critical skills related to cell and gene therapy to accelerate
their work. The course covers foundations, preclinical tools, protocols for biomanufacturing, intellectual
property, regulatory compliance, clinical trial design and systemic challenges in collaborative science. The
program is organized by module and provides learners numerous opportunities to interact with faculty 1-on-1
and in group settings. The contributing faculty are pioneers in the field of cell and gene therapy across the
translational spectrum from discovery to the first FDA approvals of both cell and gene therapy products, and
have been responsible for major advances at Penn, CHOP, the Abramson Cancer Center and globally. In
addition to basic scientists, the faculty includes experts and specialists in areas key to translating
immunobiology into clinical trials, including specialists in translational and clinical research, biomarker
characterization for cell and gene therapy, regulatory science, and commercial collaboration. Although
focused on a specific set of topics in cancer research, the theme of cell and gene therapy is increasingly
relevant to many aspects of cancer research, and our preliminary data suggests that interest among early NCI-
funded investigators is broad. This supports our hypothesis that research training in these topics is essential
and increasingly relevant and generalizable to most cancer research programs. Overall, this program will
provide NCI-funded junior investigators with critical tools to harness the latest advances in the field of cell and
gene therapy to translate their own findings into successful cancer therapies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10131160
- **Project number:** 5UE5CA246744-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHAN A. GRUPP
- **Activity code:** UE5 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $338,745
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10131160

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10131160, The cell and gene therapy toolkit for junior faculty (5UE5CA246744-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10131160. Licensed CC0.

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