# Personalized Organoid-Chip Model For Drug Testing in Pancreatic Cancer

> **NIH NIH R21** · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2023 · $228,839

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
In order to improve cancer patient outcomes, the next generation of cancer therapeutics should combine
targeted treatments with the ability to predict the likelihood of an individual’s tumor to benefit from a given
treatment. The focus of this project is on advancing a personalized platform based on the individual’s tumor
behavior which is determined not only by the cancerous epithelium but the entire tumor microenvironment
(TME). The role of TME in disease progression or even therapeutic drug response is well established in variety
of cancers with poor outcome including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) with a five year survival rate
of less than 10%. Here, combining 3D patient-derived organoids (PDO) and microfluidic technologies, we will
develop a novel tumor-chip device with the potential to generate individualized treatment response predictions
ex vivo. In Aim 1, using multiple tissue and functional read outs we will show that our multicellular platform
recapitulates the tumor and its microenvironment. In Aim 2, we will show the utility of our system as an
individualized ex vivo platform to functionally characterize the tumor response to conventional and novel
therapies. Our long-term goal is to optimize patient-specific ex vivo drug response assay technology such that
it may be used to rapidly, accurately, and reliably inform individualized treatment decisions. As a proof of
concept, the project involves developing a personalized pancreatic cancer model; however this technology can
be extended to other solid tumor types with rich TME (i.e., breast cancer) to improve molecular and/or cellular
characterizations of cancer biology and therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10570699
- **Project number:** 1R21CA277110-01
- **Recipient organization:** RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Faraz Bishehsari
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $228,839
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10570699

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10570699, Personalized Organoid-Chip Model For Drug Testing in Pancreatic Cancer (1R21CA277110-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10570699. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*