{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260101346"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260101346","attributes":{"code":"DE260101346","administering-organisation":"The University of Melbourne","announcement-administering-organisation":"The University of Melbourne","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-01-01","anticipated-end-date":"2028-12-31","grant-summary":"Defining optimal cell culture conditions to prevent T cell ferroptosis . This project aims to improve the survival and function of T cells by fine-tuning the conditions in which they grow. Currently, physicians rely solely on a minimum number of collected primary cells to expand or modify, which presents a challenge in acquiring sufficient cell numbers. Our project specifically aims to understand and control the metabolic changes that lead to particular cell death, with the goal of developing better culture conditions to keep cells healthy and functional. The anticipated benefits include include advancements in fundamental biology, cell metabolism research, cell expansion industries, cell-based therapy research, and more.","funding-current":485212.00,"funding-at-announcement":481279,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Pooranee","familyName":"Morgan","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0009-0005-8242-4492 "}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Pooranee","familyName":"Morgan","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0009-0005-8242-4492 "}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"The University of Melbourne","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"VIC"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"The University of Melbourne","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"VIC"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":true,"code":"3101","name":"Biochemistry and Cell Biology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310102","name":"Cell Development, Proliferation and Death","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310103","name":"Cell Metabolism","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"320404","name":"Cellular Immunology","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"200102","name":"Efficacy of Medications","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"280102","name":"Expanding Knowledge In the Biological Sciences","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":[],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"T cell therapies offer life-saving treatments for cancer and immune disorders but remain prohibitively expensive in Australia, costing around $750k per course of treatment. One contributing factor is the significantly high production expenses. A key challenge in T cell therapy manufacturing is maintaining cell survival and function during prolonged culture which can lead to cell dysfunction, reduced efficacy, ultimately increasing production time and costs.\n\nThis project tackles this manufacturing challenge by identifying metabolic changes in T cells over time and developing fine-tuned culture conditions to optimise production efficacy. Specifically, the project will focus on metabolic shifts (i.e., assess protein and lipid levels between a freshly isolated T cell and cultured T cells) that influence cell death and fate. The project will use healthy human donor cells to complement in vitro findings with compelling biologically-relevant data to improve project quality. The findings will be used to create a defined media for T cell manufacturing that optimises cell function and enhances the efficiency of the manufacturing process. The fundamental knowledge generated has scope to be extended to various immune cell manufacturing protocols, and has potential to inform future T cell therapy developments.\n\nOutcomes from this project will be promoted through institutional social media, presented at conferences, and communicated to industries utilising cell culture technologies."}}}