Till wins UW pilot, feasibility grant

Dr. Brian Till, a senior oncology fellow in the Clinical Research Division, is among three recipients of the University of Washington General Clinical Research Center's 2007 Pilot and Feasibility Grants.

The GCRC works to help junior investigators establish their research programs. The Pilot and Feasibility Grant program facilitates career development in clinical research. Each year, the GCRC seeks applications for well-defined, one-year projects that make use of GCRC resources. The grants are open to early career investigators or exceptional established investigators who are proposing a new direction in their clinical research. After rigorous scientific peer review of all the applications, up to three pilot projects each year receive support at a maximum budget of $25,000 each, based on available funding.

Till's study, "Adoptive Therapy for Relapsed Lymphoma with Genetically Modified CD20-Specific T-cells," will test the feasibility of treating mantle cell and indolent B-cell lymphomas using autologous T-lymphocytes that have been genetically modified ex vivo to recognize the CD20 antigen present on B-cells.

The University of Washington's Drs. Nathalia Jimenez, acting assistant professor, Department of Anesthesiology, and Nathaniel Watson, assistant professor, Department of Neurology, also received GCRC grants.

More information on the GCRC Pilot Grants Program is available online http://www.crc.washington.edu/Applications/Pilot.aspx.