2025 Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Gynecological Cancer Research
Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Inc. (ACGT) funds research aimed at furthering the development of cell and gene therapy approaches for the treatment of patients with cancer.

This new grant award is for those conducting cell and gene therapy research specifically in gynecological cancers (ovarian, endometrial, cervical) including, but not limited to, the following research areas:

• Approaches that investigate and manipulate the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment to achieve a robust immune response utilizing cell or gene therapies targeting regulatory T cells (T-regs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), tumor-entrained neutrophils, and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs).
• Identifying predictive biomarkers that will help identify patients who are more likely to respond to cell and gene therapies.
• Resolving key challenges limiting cell trafficking, infiltration and persistence including antigen presentation defects, tumor heterogeneity and genomic instability, and tumor microenvironment factors.
  Approaches that focus on endothelial cells, myeloid cells, cancer-associated fibroblast populations, regulatory T-cells, or relevant immune effectors that regulate the growth, proliferation, and metastasis of cancers.
• Gene therapy approaches focused on mutation compensation, immunopotentiation, expression of neoantigen-reactive TCRs, oncolytic viruses, etc.
  Advancements in CAR T designs including in vivo approaches, armored, tandem, and switch CARs,
• CAR-macrophages, CAR-NK cells, and CARMSCs, the inclusion of chemokine and cytokines, costimulatory domains, multi-antigen targeting, etc.
  Novel approaches using less applied immune cell types including transfection with tumor specific T-Cell Receptors, Gamma-Delta T cells, Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes, Natural Killer cells, iPSC-derived cells, as autologous or allogeneic cells.
• Combination approaches that leverage cell and gene therapy including CARs and oncolytic viruses alongside other immunotherapy approaches such as checkpoint inhibitors, systemic cytokines, or bispecific antibodies.

2025 ACGT – Cinelli Family Foundation Investigator Award in Cell and Gene Therapy for Breast Cancer with the Cinelli Family Foundation

ACGT funds research aimed at furthering the development of cell and gene therapy approaches for the treatment of patients with cancer. The Cinelli Family Foundation supports research into drug redevelopment, immunotherapy and other innovative treatment modalities for the treatment of breast cancer, leukemia and pancreatic cancers.

This new grant award is for those conducting cell and gene therapy research specifically in breast cancers including, but not limited to, the following research areas:

• Identifying potential effective antigen targets in individual breast cancer subtypes including HER2+ and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) actionable for TCR or CAR T approaches.
• Development of CAR-immune cells including but not limited to CAR-macrophages, CAR-NK cells, CAR-MSCs, for the treatment of breast cancer.
• Development of bispecific CAR-T cells targeting two or more antigens and logic-gated CARs.
• Constructing CARs to degrade the extracellular matrix of tumor cells - targeting one or more components of the TME including the endothelium, CAFs, MDSCs, TAM, and Treg cells.
• Using oncolytic viruses to drive CAR-T cell traffic to tumor sites.
• Improvement of HER2-targeted CAR-T cells for HER-2-positive breast cancer to improve efficacy and limit toxicity.
• Approaches to address antigen heterogeneity and on-target/off-tumor toxicity.
• Developing cell therapies in conjunction with cis-cytokine bispecifics.