Georgia CORE announces 2025 collaborative research seed grant winning team

5/12/2025, Georgia CORE

May is National Cancer Research Month, and Georgia CORE is celebrating by awarding a research grant. The “Collaborative Seed Grant Program for Cancer Research” provides seed funding for a cancer research project that involves two or more institutions or organizations in Georgia comprised of a lead and a collaborative research entity. The 4th annual seed fund grant is going to Ali Arbab, MD, PhD of the Georgia Cancer Center at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University and Mujibur Khan, PhD of Georgia Southern University. The two will be awarded $100,000 to study multi-drug nanocapsules for breast cancer treatment.

“Most breast cancer related mortality is due to recurrence and distal metastasis,” said Dr. Arbab. “The tumor microenvironment, especially tumor associated macrophages, are shown to be prognostic factors in breast cancers, and with standard chemotherapy, can contribute to reviving the tumor. We will test nanocapsules to sustain release of an active drug that will more effectively impact the microenvironment of the tumor.”

The collaborative seed grant comes from the Georgia Cancer Research Fund, which is administered by Georgia CORE and funded by Georgia taxpayers who elect to donate on their tax forms.

“This kind of cutting-edge research is what changes the lives of people impacted by cancer,” said Georgia CORE president Lynn Durham, EdD. “Georgia taxpayers make a quick and easy decision to give to the cancer research fund, and we are grateful to be able to grant those funds directly to this life-saving research.”