# Development of a highly-multiplexed CRISPR-based TB drug susceptibility test

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $791,030

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance is a major threat to global health, with only about a third of the half million
drug-resistant TB patients enrolled into treatment, highlighting a critical gap for diagnosing drug resistant TB. To
address this challenge, investigators from Princeton, Rutgers, Fudan, and Harvard University have convened
clinical, technologic, laboratory and epidemiologic expertise to develop and evaluate a new platform to address
critical unmet TB drug susceptibility testing needs. To improve accuracy and comprehensiveness within rapid,
simplified workflows for TB drug susceptibility testing, we will leverage a highly-multiplexed CRISPR platform
called CARMEN. Our project benefits from optimization of CARMEN over the last 4 years for viral, bacterial, and
single nucleotide polymorphism-based variant and drug resistance detection, machine-learning based design
strategies, and ongoing advancements in simplified workflows. The project further benefits from a large bank of
MDR-TB strains and sputum samples for assay optimization and validation and a team with complementary
expertise in molecular TB drug resistance, technology development and validation, and clinical implementation.
This proposal will test the hypothesis that a TB DST based on the CARMEN platform will meet or exceed minimal
WHO performance and operational targets for high-priority first and second line drugs. Specific aims are to
develop a comprehensive CRISPR-based TB drug susceptibility test to achieve accurate genotypic and
phenotypic predictions for: (1) resistance to high-priority first-line drugs, (2) resistance to high-priority second
line drugs, and 3) to further simplify the manual workflow, speed, and instrumentation to exceed operational
criteria for use in peripheral laboratories.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10859896
- **Project number:** 1R01AI182281-01
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Cameron Amadeus Myhrvold
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $791,030
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-24 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10859896

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10859896, Development of a highly-multiplexed CRISPR-based TB drug susceptibility test (1R01AI182281-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10859896. Licensed CC0.

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