The UNC School of Medicine Office of Research provided pilot funding to five teams for cutting-edge New Approach Methodologies research.
The School of Medicine Office of Research sponsors an annual pilot program, Emerging Challenges in Biomedical Research (ECBR), that provides support for innovative, early-stage research relevant to external strategic priorities. The fall 2025 round of funding was focused on advancing translational biomedical research through the use or development of New Approach Methodologies/Non-Animal Models (NAMs) and New Approach Technologies (NATs). Previous ECBR rounds have provided pilot support for Basic Science, Health Equity Research, COVID-19, Zika, Alzheimer’s Disease, Precision Healthcare and Vaping research.
Five teams received ECBR funding for cutting-edge NAM/NAT projects. The teams are:
Sarah Shelton, PhD, assistant professor in the Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, with Brian Miller, MD, PhD, (Oncology), and Gianpietro Dotti, MD (Microbiology & Immunology), will develop advanced tissue-on-chip models to improve CAR T cell therapy for solid tumors. Their project, A New Approach Method for the Discovery of Targets to Improve CAR T Cell Therapy, aims to enhance CAR T cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment and identify pathways for engineering more effective therapies.
Douglas M. Cyr, PhD, professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, leads the project, The Mechanism for ProSP-CI73T Proteotoxicity in Idiopathic Lung Fibrosis. Using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived alveolar epithelial cells, the team will uncover how a common surfactant protein mutation disrupts cell homeostasis and drives IPF onset, paving the way for new therapeutic strategies.
Cyrus Vaziri, PhD, professor in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, with Jessica Bowser, PhD (Pathology), and Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD (OBGYN/Oncology), will investigate metastatic cancer biology in their proposal, Defining Molecular Vulnerabilities of Metastatic Cancer Spheroids Using Non-Animal Models. By leveraging patient-relevant 3D spheroid systems, the team seeks to identify protein kinase signaling pathways that sustain metastatic spread and reveal actionable targets for therapy.
Sarah Rowe-Conlon, PhD, associate professor in Microbiology and Immunology, with collaborators Tessa Andermann, MD, MPH, (Medicine/Infectious Diseases), and Adriana Beltran, PhD (Genetics/HPCC), will create a human liver organoid model to study hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. Their project, Human Liver Organoid Model to Phenotype Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates, will improve detection of high-risk strains and reduce reliance on animal models for infection research.
Timothy P. Moran, MD, PhD, associate professor in Pediatrics, with Michael Kulis, PhD (Peds), Scott Randell, PhD (Cell Biology & Physiology), Phillip Clapp, PhD (Cell Biology & Physiology), Adam Kimple, MD, PhD (Otolaryngology), will develop human lymphoid organoids to study food allergy immunotherapy. Their proposal, Development of a Human Lymphoid Organoid Model to Study Food Allergy Immunotherapy, aims to identify Th1-promoting adjuvants that enhance the efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy for peanut allergy.
More about the ECBR mechanism and other funding provided by the Office of Research can be found here.
This article originally appeared in the January 8, 2026 issue of UNC Vital Signs HERE.