# IL1RAP CAR NK cells enhance targeting of Ewing Sarcoma (ES) alone and with combinatorial targeted immunotherapy

> **NIH NIH U54** · RESEARCH INST NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSP · 2021 · $217,500

## Abstract

Overall Center Abstract
This application describes the Pediatric Ohio-New York Cancer (Peds-ONC) Immunotherapy Center, created in
response to the RFA as a second nidus for the Pediatric Immunotherapy Discovery and Development
Consortium (PI-DDN). To complement the funded U54 (Maris and Mackall, MPI) of the PI-DDN that largely
seeks to harness adaptive immunity to further develop CAR-T cells against newly identified antigens, we propose
to harness innate immunity to target pediatric cancers, to circumvent resistance to conventional therapy, and to
further enable adaptive/hybrid immune approaches.
Our aims are to (1) Identify and overcome barriers to utilizing NK and CAR-NK cells as cancer therapeutics, (2)
break tolerance to “self” cancer-associated proteins and (3) enhance immunotherapies by targeting suppressive
myeloid cells. We will accomplish our aims through four projects, based at two major sites based in Ohio
(Nationwide Children’s Hospital) and New York (New York Medical College) with subsites in Columbus (The
Ohio State University) and Minneapolis (Univeristy of Minnesota). In addition to an Administrative Shared
Resource (Core A, directed by Dr. Timothy Cripe and Associate Director Dr. Mitchell Cairo), the projects are
scientifically supported by a comprehensive Genomics & Immune Monitoring Shared Resource (Core B, directed
by Dr. Elaine Mardis with several subspecialy assistant directors). Core B provides integrated datasets via state-
of-the-art technologies including mass cytometry, single cell transcriptomics, and an array of other genomics
approaches that enable detailed characterizations and tracking of cancer cell immunogenicity, the tumor immune
microenvironment, and immunologic responses. We have also assembled strong external and internal scientific
advisory boards of renowned leaders whose expertise spans the projects and shared resources. The projects
are highly integrated and cross-informative. We propose that therapeutic regimens that combine modalities will
produce synergy that drives anti-tumor immune responses in preclinical pediatric cancer models, overcoming
the limitations of low mutational burdens. Our goal is to generate a sufficient body of knowledge with compelling
data to inform the rational design of future clinical trials and thereby improve the lives of children with cancer.
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10401167
- **Project number:** 3U54CA232561-01A1S2
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH INST NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSP
- **Principal Investigator:** TIMOTHY P CRIPE
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $217,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10401167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10401167, IL1RAP CAR NK cells enhance targeting of Ewing Sarcoma (ES) alone and with combinatorial targeted immunotherapy (3U54CA232561-01A1S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10401167. Licensed CC0.

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