# Rapid, Single Cell Proteomic Profiling for Biomarker Development in Precision Oncology

> **NIH NIH R42** · APERTURE BIO, INC. · 2024 · $339,990

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Nearly two thirds of the 18 million new cancer patients each year fail treatment due to resistance that is not
fully understood. Even in state-of-the-art clinical trials, oncologists struggle to select patients likely to respond
to next-generation therapies. The outdated, imprecise pathology tools currently in clinical use (e.g. IHC) fail to
reliably deliver critical information such as the extent of drug target expression and accurate assessment of cell
states. Newer research tools including immunofluorescence analysis and mass cytometry also fail to bridge
this gap due to complex workflows that limit adoption to expert users, incur high sample size requirements,
and/or represent a prohibitive expense. There is a significant unmet clinical need for the development of an
improved diagnostic tool capable of generating precise, accurate, single-cell information to enable improved
diagnostic and treatment outcomes across tumor types. The goal of this project is to commercialize a platform
for rapid molecular analysis for minute and fragile cell populations, in order to generate data on protein
expression, cell state, and co-localization (including of immune cells) in single cells with the precision of flow
cytometry, while preserving the sample. The successful completion of this project will result in a validated panel
for profiling of immune cells with accompanying computational services, which can be used on standard
immunofluorescent microscopes. A successful project of this service is expected to translate into the ability to
profile many more biomarkers from a range of biopsy samples than is possible at present. Ultimately, the
technology is well suited to translate to clinical settings, where it can be used to optimally select responders for
precision cancer therapies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10911716
- **Project number:** 1R42CA290912-01
- **Recipient organization:** APERTURE BIO, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Hannah Marie Peterson
- **Activity code:** R42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $339,990
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-20 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10911716

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10911716, Rapid, Single Cell Proteomic Profiling for Biomarker Development in Precision Oncology (1R42CA290912-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10911716. Licensed CC0.

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