Research

Recipients of the Blavatnik Acceleration Fund Push the Boundaries in Medicine and Engineering

Four interdisciplinary research teams are fueling advances, from cancer research to maternal health, with the generous support of the Blavatnik Fund for Engineering Innovations in Health

October 01, 2024

This year, the Blavatnik Acceleration Fund at Columbia Engineering will support four teams researching bladder cancer, embryonic brain development, spontaneous preterm birth, and the basis of common language disorders. These awards are supported by the School’s Blavatnik Fund for Engineering Innovations in Health, made possible with the generous support from the Blavatnik Family Foundation, headed by Columbia Engineering alumnus Len Blavatnik MS’91. 

Established in 2018, the Blavatnik Fund for Engineering Innovations in Health focuses on research at the intersection of engineering and health, with the aim to expedite the development, application, and commercialization of breakthrough discoveries. 

The fund has supported 24 projects across seven cohorts, teams rooted in cross collaboration. Those investigations have led to breakthroughs in understanding the foundations of memory, enabled the development of an important new technique for stem cell therapy, and supported the construction of a prototype robotic walker that helps children with cerebral palsy learn to walk. 

In addition to sponsoring research projects, the Blavatnik Fund for Engineering Innovations in Health also supports talented doctoral students at a critical stage in their research. Since its inception in 2018, the Blavatnik Doctoral Fellowships have been awarded to 39 students across a range of areas of study–from biomedical optics to single-cell genomics and protein engineering to cutting-edge drug delivery.

The interdisciplinary nature of the research projects supported by the Blavatnik Fund for Engineering Innovations and Health underscores the Engineering School’s strong ties with collaborators at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, including the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, all working towards a common goal of bringing innovative solutions to engineering and medicine.

About the winning projects: 

Engineering tumor painting nanoparticles to promote immunotherapy responsiveness in bladder cancer

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Santiago Correa
Santiago Correa
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Nicholas Arpaia
Nicholas Arpaia

PIs: Santiago Correa, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center; Nicholas Arpaia, associate professor of microbiology & immunology 

This project introduces a highly innovative strategy to enhance immunotherapy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) through the use of tumor 'painting' nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are designed to deliver immunomodulatory proteins directly to tumors via intravesical administration, meeting the urgent need for safer and more effective treatments. 

With MIBC's grim prognosis (~50% 5-year survival rate) and the limited success of current immunotherapies, their project aims to make tumors more responsive to such therapies, potentially benefiting a larger group of patients. Their research is structured around two main objectives. Aim 1 is to demonstrate that these nanoparticles can precisely target and deliver their protein payloads to MIBC tumors in advanced orthotopic mouse models, evaluating the treatment's efficacy and safety. Aim 2 explores the therapeutic potential of using these nanoparticles to deliver the CXCL13 chemokine, thereby priming the tumor microenvironment to enhance the response to PD-1 checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. The researchers hypothesize that CXCL13 delivery will induce the formation of tertiary lymphoid structures, known to amplify anti-cancer immune responses, as evidenced by recent MIBC clinical trials.

Their proposal integrates cutting-edge nanomedicine with immunology to offer a novel approach that could reduce treatment toxicity, target tumors more precisely, and amplify the effectiveness of existing cancer treatments. 

The genomic and synaptic basis of learned sound association and language disorder

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David Knowles
David Knowles
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David Sulzer
David Sulzer

PIs: David Knowles, assistant professor of computer science and member of the Data Science Institute; David Sulzer, professor of psychiatry, neurology, pharmacology

Learned sound association is the process by which the auditory nervous system associates a sound with a certain outcome. This ability can be impaired in neurodevelopmental conditions such as language disorder and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

In this research project, Knowles and Sulzer aim to identify variants and genes affecting language disorder and study the neuronal pathways and circuits involved in sound association along with the mutations that can disrupt them. This will be achieved by using computational approaches to analyze large-scale human genetic data such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and post-GWAS analysis methods, and conducting behavioral experiments with fiber photometry in wildtype and mutant mice models using an interactive virtual reality environment.

A multi-omic investigation of the vaginal ecosystem and cervical biomechanical properties in pregnancy

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Kristen Myers
Kristin Myers
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Tal Korem
Tal Korem
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Mirella Mourad
Mirella Mourad

PIs: Kristin Myers, associate professor of mechanical engineering; Tal Korem, assistant professor of systems biology and reproductive sciences in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Mirella Mourad, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology 

Spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) is one of the leading causes of complications during pregnancy, but there are few ways for physicians to predict or prevent it. Researchers have found that two factors — the community of bacteria living in the vagina and physical changes to the cervix — play a role in sPTB. 

With support from the Blavatnik Acceleration Fund, this research team will investigate how the vaginal ecosystem affects the stiffness of the cervix and its mechanical changes during pregnancy. This comprehensive approach could lead to new ways to identify women at risk of preterm birth and develop treatments to strengthen the cervix and prevent early labor.

Mechanobiology of early embryonic brain development

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Nandan Nerurkar
Nandan Nerurkar
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Maria Toches
Maria Tosches

PIs: Nandan Nerurkar, assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Maria Tosches, assistant professor of biological sciences

Errors in the earliest stages of brain development can lead to severe neurological disorders, but researchers still don’t fully understand the factors that determine how the embryonic brain’s shape and structure are formed. 

With support from the Blavatnik Acceleration Fund, this research team will study how physical forces and genetic signals work together to shape the developing brain. By combining engineering techniques to measure mechanical forces with advanced molecular biology methods, they aim to uncover how tension in the developing brain influences cell growth and identity.

This interdisciplinary approach could reveal fundamental insights into brain development, helping researchers understand how early disruptions can lead to neurological disorders and potentially guiding future treatments.

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