The WVU Shared Research Facilities Microfabrication Cleanroom is contributing to a five-year, $2.20 million NIH/National Cancer Institute R01 led by Principal Investigator Dr. Margaret Bennewitz, with Dr. Trieu Nguyen serving as Co-Principal Investigator and leading the microfabrication component.
Dr. Nguyen, Co-PI and Manager of the SRF Microfabrication Cleanroom, will direct the in-house design and fabrication of custom 3D “tumor-on-a-chip” devices. These miniature devices will grow small clusters of breast cancer cells beside blood-vessel-like channels carrying flowing nutrients, creating controlled laboratory models of how an imaging agent moves from the bloodstream into a tumor.
Researchers will use the devices to study how effectively NEMO particles reach and enter cancer cells and make them visible on MRI. This platform will support faster, carefully controlled testing and may reduce reliance on animal studies.
Award period: June 2026–May 2031