Key Points
- The Foundation’s Research Awards Program has initiated nine new preclinical projects this year.
- Researchers are developing new focused ultrasound treatments for cancer, brain tumors, and veterinary medicine.
Nine new Foundation-funded preclinical projects began in the first quarter of 2025. With five cancer immunotherapy and four veterinary program studies, researchers are investigating various forms of focused ultrasound for the treatment of melanoma, urinary tract stones, and tumors in the brain, breast, pancreas, ovaries, and abdomen.
“The Foundation is excited to support these groundbreaking projects leveraging different focused ultrasound techniques to advance cancer treatment and veterinary care,” said Joe Kilroy, PhD, associate director of the Research and Education Team. “These studies reflect our commitment to fostering research that can make a real impact on our health and the health of our companion animals.”
Each new project is listed below by topic area:
Cancer Immunotherapy (5)
Using Boiling Histotripsy with Checkpoint Inhibition for T-Cell Dependent Immunity for Breast Cancer and Melanoma led by Rich Price, PhD, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia*
For this project, researchers within the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center are seeking to elicit systemic immunity against solid tumors by combining immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitors with boiling histotripsy. The idea is to further advance the team’s previous discoveries and optimize the parameters needed for T cell-dependent antitumor immunity in preclinical models of both breast cancer and melanoma.
Maximizing Systemic Anti-Tumor Immune Responses in Pancreatic Cancer Using Histotripsy in Combination with Immunotherapeutic Approaches led by Irving Coy Allen, PhD, MBA, in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion*
Because new types of pancreatic cancer treatments are needed, researchers are seeking to determine whether the application of histotripsy can change immunologically challenging, or “cold,” tumor microenvironments into immunotherapy-responsive, or “hot” environments. If successful, the team may be able to improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies for pancreatic cancer while also gaining further understanding of the abscopal effect (tumor regression in locations that were not directly treated with focused ultrasound). “The Foundation team is happy that this project originated as a result of our workshop on The Role of Focused Ultrasound in Pancreatic Cancer,” said Managing Director and Co-Director of the Foundation’s Research and Education Team Chrit Moonen, PhD.
Leveraging Focused Ultrasound to Enhance Adoptive T Cell Therapy Efficacy in High-Fidelity Peritoneal Cancer Models led by Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia*
To determine whether the combination of focused ultrasound with T cell therapy can potentiate adoptive cell immunotherapy, researchers within the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center will treat specially developed models of ovarian and pancreatic cancer with previously proven focused ultrasound cancer immunotherapy techniques. If the optimal combination treatment can be discovered, the results could apply across many different types of cancer.
Defining the Abscopal Effect in Pancreatic Cancer Following Focal Tumor Ablation led by Irving Coy Allen, PhD, MBA, in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion*
Histotripsy and thermal ablation have both been shown to induce a systemic anti-tumor immune response, but the mechanism behind the immune responses remains unknown. For this project, researchers are studying tumor antigen presentation and quality after both types of ablation to evaluate the effectiveness of each modality. The team hopes to answer the question of which method induces the most robust and predictable abscopal effect.
Assessing the Efficacy of Low-Intensity Pulsed Focused Ultrasound with Microbubbles (LIPU/MB) and Immune Adjuvants as an Innovative Strategy to Mitigate Antigen-Escape Resistance Mechanism of CAR T Cell Therapy in Malignant Glioma led by Marco Gallus, MD, MSc, in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco
Immunotherapies are promising but have had limited success as a treatment for malignant gliomas. These tumors are often shielded from the immune system by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), therefore escaping from chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy. The aim of this study is to determine whether LIPU/MB BBB opening can promote CNS/brain tumor antigen presentation to the systemic immune system to provoke an adaptative immune response against multiple CNS antigens and enhance response to chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy.
Veterinary Program (4)
Developing Histotripsy as a Noninvasive Treatment for Oral Tumors (in Dogs) led by JoAnne Tuohy, DVM, PhD, in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion*
To determine whether histotripsy can be effectively used to ablate benign and malignant oral tumors, researchers will develop the parameters and targeting methods needed to conduct a feasibility clinical trial in dogs. If successful, histotripsy could replace invasive surgical methods that end up removing important anatomical features. “Histotripsy is now approved for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States and being studied for treatment of other cancers,” said Dr. Moonen. “The Foundation is happy to see the exploration of its use in veterinary patients.”
Histotripsy for Noninvasive Treatment of Canine Lipoma led by Adam Maxwell, PhD, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion*
Lipomas, the most common benign skin tumor in dogs, do not usually require treatment; however, invasive surgery is sometimes needed for those that are large or complex. To determine whether histotripsy could be used to liquefy and shrink lipomas, researchers are evaluating the feasibility of using the technology for this application. “This project is another example of the further development of histotripsy,” said Dr. Moonen.
Evaluation of Advanced Burst-Wave Lithotripsy System for Feline Ureteroliths led by Adam Maxwell, PhD, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University*
In this project, researchers are seeking to further develop burst wave lithotripsy as a noninvasive method to treat urinary tract stones (or uteroliths – a significant cause of morbidity and mortality) in pet cats. The current treatment method, surgical removal, carries a high risk of serious complications. Burst wave lithotripsy is a type of focused ultrasound that can be used to break stones into passable sizes, and a previous pilot study in 10 cats showed good effectiveness and safety but identified some limitations of the device. Therefore, a new system that is more clinically practical – with a flat, broadband annular array transducer – will be developed and tested.
Advancing Toward the Standard of Care Histotripsy for Canine Liver Cancer led by JoAnne Tuohy, DVM, PhD, in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion*
This proof-of-concept study seeks to advance histotripsy as a standard-of-care therapy for canine hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A secondary goal is to describe the ablative and immune effects of histotripsy ablation in canine HCC. The project should also allow researchers to obtain data that may further broaden and advance the scope of histotripsy ablation for human liver tumors.
A document for researchers seeking grant funding, the “Research Funding Applicant Guide,” describes the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s research priorities, its two-part application process, and what happens after a funding decision is made.
Learn How to Apply for a Research Award
Watch ‘Focused In: Research Funding with Dr. Kilroy’ (6 minutes)
*This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a result of the Foundation’s advocacy efforts.