Interdisciplinary Grants Awarded for Cancer-Focused Engineering Projects

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), in collaboration with the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, the Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies, has awarded grants to seven research teams developing engineering innovations to improve cancer treatment and detection.

The awards were given through the Bioscientific Innovations from Cancer Engineering Partnerships (BICEPS) initiative. Now in its second year, BICEPS funds one-year pilot programs designed to address complex challenges in cancer care.

“We’re thrilled about this continued, powerful collaboration. I am optimistic that these newly funded, cross-disciplinary teams will launch new discoveries that will benefit our cancer patients in groundbreaking ways,” says Neli Ulrich, PhD, MS, chief scientific officer and executive director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute and Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professor in Cancer Research in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the U. “We are hopeful that their creativity will be supported by federal funding and yield technologies that improve clinical care.”

The selected projects encompass a variety of subjects, including pioneering diagnostic tools and improved treatment-delivery methods.

“Interdisciplinary research has always been a critical aspect of engineering. We need to form these kinds of connections to translate ideas from the lab to real-world applications,” says Charles Musgrave, PhD, dean of the Price College of Engineering at the U. “We are especially excited to collaborate with Huntsman Cancer Institute and our partners in the health sciences, as we strongly believe that together we will accomplish extraordinary things that improve the human condition. From electrical to mechanical to computer engineering and beyond, I’m proud of our faculty for contributing their expertise to the critical field of cancer diagnosis and treatment.”

The BICEPS program began with a 2023 networking event that brought cancer investigators and engineers together to share research interests in a dynamic, lightning-talk-style setting. To continue the spirit of collaboration, event organizers issued the first call for pilot programs. In its inaugural year, grants were awarded to six interdisciplinary teams.

This year, proposals were evaluated on their potential to transform patient care and their likelihood of attracting future funding or commercial interest. Each of the seven selected teams will receive up to $40,000 for their project.

“The Department of Radiation Oncology is extremely excited to be part of a program catalyzing collaborations between engineers and cancer specialists at Huntsman Cancer Institute,” says Amit Maity, MD, PhD, FASTRO, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the U. “Our hope is the selected projects will leverage the expertise between these groups to make significant strides to overcome the most pressing challenges in cancer care.”

“These grants encourage impactful partnerships between engineers and cancer researchers to discover innovative engineering solutions in cancer care,” says Ramiro Garzon, MD, chief of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the U. “By empowering interdisciplinary research, BICEPS enables scientists and engineers to develop transformative technologies that can detect, treat, and ultimately change cancer care as we know it.”

Four of the projects will be funded by Huntsman Cancer Institute. The Price College of Engineering, the Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Division of Hematology and Hematological Malignancies will each support one project.

“As an oncologist with a degree in engineering, I very much value these partnerships to drive innovation in cancer discovery. The first year demonstrated we can indeed work together on common problems as these disciplines bring complementary skills,” says Sachin Apte, MD, MBA, MS, chief clinical officer and physician-in-chief at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the U. “Given the talent at Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Price College of Engineering, the U is well positioned to bring these scientists together to create cutting-edge solutions to cancer-related problems. I look forward to this next step in the maturation of the BICEPS grant program as we continue to refine how these two disciplines can create novel solutions.”