Researchers at the University of Houston are working on an advanced artificial intelligence technology designed to advance cell-based immunotherapy for cancer, as well as other diseases. Professors Badri Roysam and Navin Varadarajan lead the innovative work through their aim to enhance the Time-lapse Imaging Microscopy In Nanowell Grids, or TIMING platform. Originated at UH, the commercialization of the platform is handled by CellChorus Inc., which is a university spinoff. The platform has been awarded $2.5 million from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), that is part of the NIH, in order to further develop the platform.
TIMING platform enables dynamic, label-free analysis of single cells and hence scientists observe cell-to-cell interaction and behavior over time. It captures tens of thousands of videos, particularly capturing the interactions between immune cells like T cells and those cancerous tumor cells. These videos are then decomposed to be analyzed using advanced AI models and automated computer vision systems for valuable inferences. The analysis has to be high through, but not labeled with fluorescent dyes. This means no fluorescent dyes have to be used in the analysis, a procedure popularly known as label-free analysis. This is crucial to the preservation of natural state cell and the observation of their responses in a more realistic environment.
According to Roysam, the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UH, the collaboration with Varadarajan is exciting about applying AI to life sciences and furthering immunotherapy treatments. CellChorus co-founder Navin Varadarajan is also a professed MD Anderson Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UH and plays an important part in the advancement of the project.
This NIH-funded grant further develops such a label-free technology that enables precise observation of cellular behaviors and the response of treatments. It positions itself on the combined integration of AI, advanced microscopy, and microscale manufacturing, allowing deeper insights into cellular behavior which lies at the heart of the puzzle for diseases such as cancer and new therapies. Rebecca Berdeaux is CellChorus’s chief scientific officer and the co-principal investigator on the grant. “This project will advance computational tools that integrate single-cell analysis with intracellular signaling, opening new pathways in therapeutic development,” she underlines.