North Park大学首获NIH拨款650,108美元：研究淋巴瘤细胞扩散至脑的机制
位于伊利诺伊州库克县 Chicago 市的 North Park 大学宣布，该校于 9 月 17 日获得美国国家癌症研究所（NCI）「科研卓越支持」（SuRE）项目（R16）拨款 650,108 美元，这是该校历史上第一笔美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）拨款。该校也是伊利诺伊州在 2026 财年获得 NIH 拨款的 20 所大学之一。
项目由生物系助理教授 Tracy O'Connor 主持，为期四年，自 2026 年 9 月 24 日起至 2030 年 8 月 31 日止，奖号 R16CA315399。项目名为「淋巴瘤细胞向脑扩散的机制」，将研究淋巴瘤细胞如何利用趋化因子网络与信号通路进入大脑，并探究大脑自身抵御淋巴瘤细胞的策略，研究结果有望为阻止淋巴瘤向神经系统扩散的治疗方法提供依据。
NIH 的 SuRE 项目面向历史上获得 NIH 科研经费较少的高校，支持其科研能力建设。这笔拨款还将扩大该校生物医学与行为科学方向的学生研究机会，学生可参与定向研究与暑期研究，在实作中积累科研技能。
O'Connor 表示：「这笔拨款将显著扩大 North Park 在生物医学科学领域的定向研究与暑期研究机会。学生们和我都迫不及待地想开始工作，为增进对癌症的理解作出贡献。」该校教务长 Francisco X. Gaytán 表示，NIH 拨款为师生合作研究提供了机会，也强化了学校的学习共同体。
North Park University Receives Its First-Ever NIH Grant: $650,108 to Study How Lymphoma Spreads to the Brain
North Park University, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, announced that on September 17 it was awarded a $650,108 Support for Research Excellence (SuRE) award (R16) from the National Cancer Institute. It is the first grant the university has ever received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and North Park was one of 20 universities in Illinois to receive an NIH grant for the 2026 fiscal year.
The four-year project, led by assistant professor of biology Tracy O'Connor, runs from September 24, 2026, through August 31, 2030, under award number R16CA315399. Titled "Mechanisms of Lymphoma Cell Dissemination to the Brain," it will examine how lymphoma cells use chemokine networks and signaling pathways to access the brain, and how the brain protects itself from those cells. The findings could inform treatments that prevent lymphoma from spreading to the nervous system.
The NIH SuRE program supports research capacity and scientific investigation at institutions that have historically received limited NIH funding. The award will also expand hands-on and summer research opportunities for students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.
"This award will significantly expand opportunities for directed and summer research in the biomedical sciences at North Park," O'Connor said. "The students and I are excited to get started and contribute to advancing our understanding of cancer." Provost Francisco X. Gaytán said the grant encourages student collaboration with faculty and strengthens the university's community of learning.
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：North Park大学地标建筑Old Main（资料图）。Rputera 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Old Main, the landmark building of North Park University (file photo). Photo by Rputera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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