Flow cytometry is the method of choice for both immuno-oncology and leukemia / lymphoma research because it is ideally suited to studies with non-adherent cells and also studies that require co-cultures of tumor cells with cells that constitute their micro-environment. Until recently the power of flow cytometry as a tool for cancer research has been limited by the very low sample throughput of conventional flow cytometers. This problem has recently been solved by the development of automated flow cytometers that allow investigators to test the activity of thousands of drugs and drug combinations on cancer cells and immuno-therapeutics. Automated flow cytometry will have a transformative effe...

Read More

Flow cytometry is the method of choice for both immuno-oncology and leukemia / lymphoma research because it is ideally suited to studies with non-adherent cells and also studies that require co-cultures of tumor cells with cells that constitute their micro-environment. Until recently the power of flow cytometry as a tool for cancer research has been limited by the very low sample throughput of conventional flow cytometers. This problem has recently been solved by the development of automated flow cytometers that allow investigators to test the activity of thousands of drugs and drug combinations on cancer cells and immuno-therapeutics. Automated flow cytometry will have a transformative effect on immuno-oncology and leukemia / lymphoma research by enabling the use of screening technologies to identify new drugs and new combinations of drugs that can be used for the treatment of many types of cancer. We will establish a new multi-institutional core facility, the Gulf Coast Consortium (GCC) High-throughput Flow Cytometry Program (HtFCP) that will be equipped with specialized high -throughput flow cytometers and staffed by experts in high-throughput drug discovery research. The HtFCP will support researchers in the screening very large libraries of drugs and experimental agents for cancer therapeutic activity. We will also provide investigators with libraries of drugs that have already been approved for use in patients. By focusing on the repurposing of approved drugs we can insure that the most promising discoveries from screening studies can be moved rapidly into clinical testing. The HtFCP’s valuable resources will be available to researchers from the GCC’s member institutions (Texas A&M IBT, Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Univ of Houston, UTMB, UTHSC-Houston, Rice Univ). The HtFCP serves as a model for the power of collaborative research to promote the discovery of the next generation of cancer therapeutics.

Read Less