# Athymic Animal and Preclinical Therapeutics Shared Resource

> **NIH NIH P30** · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $151,577

## Abstract

ATHYMIC ANIMAL AND PRECLINICAL THERAPEUTICS SHARED RESOURCE 
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT 
The Athymic Animal and Preclinical Therapeutics Shared Resource (Athymic SR) is an essential asset to Case 
Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) members' research, illustrated by the breadth of scientific program 
involvement and reflected in the number of investigators who use this SR. Last year alone, 55 investigators, 80% 
of whom were Case CCC members, accounting for 86% of total usage, from 6 out of the Center’s 7 Programs 
used the SR. The mission of the Athymic SR is to provide support, technical expertise and services to Case CCC 
investigators using immunosuppressed mouse models in their research, in a depth and extent that could not be 
supported by individual laboratories. The Athymic SR includes two main sites: one at Case Western Reserve 
University (CWRU), housed in both the Biomedical Research and Wolstein Research Buildings, and one at 
Cleveland Clinic (CC) Taussig Cancer Institute (TCI). The Specific Aims of the Athymic SR are to: 
 1. Provide all Case CCC members the ability to purchase immunodeficient mice with no delay and at 
 significantly reduced cost vs. those from commercial sources, and the ability to perform human xenograft 
 tumor studies including patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. 
 2. Provide professional consultation and guidance for selecting the most appropriate animal models to test 
 new anti-tumor therapeutic compounds, and obtain pre-clinical pharmacokinetic / pharmacodynamic data 
 for Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies. 
 3. Provide services utilizing genetically-engineered mouse models (GEMM) that inform about the functional 
 relevance of specific genetic deletions or mutations in tumor evolution or development of drug-resistance. 
 4. Train principal investigators’ laboratory personnel in experimental animal techniques and protocols to 
 facilitate technology transfer to individual laboratories. 
At last review, the Athymic SR was rated Outstanding to Exceptional. Throughout the current funding cycle 
(2012-2016), the Athymic SR provided services to 106 registered users, 76 (72%) of whom are Case CCC 
members, representing 6 out of 7 Case CCC programs. 
Athymic SR services are provided to investigators in 4 different ways: 1) collaborative mode, in which 
investigators interact with the SR staff; 2) advanced training format, whereby users conduct their experiments in 
an independent mode; 3) full service approach, in which the SR staff perform entire experimental procedures; 
(4) interactive arrangement, in which SR staff provide guidance in developing patient-derived xenograft (PDX) 
models. All Case CCC members have formal access to this jointly managed SR.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10380698
- **Project number:** 5P30CA043703-32
- **Recipient organization:** CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** William Schiemann
- **Activity code:** P30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $151,577
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-08-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10380698

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10380698, Athymic Animal and Preclinical Therapeutics Shared Resource (5P30CA043703-32). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10380698. Licensed CC0.

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