Branden Moriarity (left) and Beau Webber (right) pose in front of the wood and glass wall at the CCRB building on the UMN Twin Cities campus. They are both wearing white coats and smiling as they lean back on the wall behind them.

MCC researchers secure $11.6M for inflammatory disease research

A pair of University of Minnesota Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center researchers have been awarded an $11.6 million grant to advance transformative treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.

The award is part of a $42.8 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) that involves a collaborative team of researchers from Mayo Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, University of Texas at Dallas, University of California Davis, State University of New York Binghamton and biotech companies EnLiSense and Sersense Inc. 

The project—called Engage Assess SecretE (EASE)—aims to develop an innovative bioelectric device that functions as a living pharmacy within the body, housing genetically engineered cells that produce therapeutics on demand to target inflammation. This new approach could revolutionize the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and other autoimmune disorders. 

Branden Moriarity, PhD, and Beau Webber, PhD, co-directors for the cancer center's Genome Engineering Shared Resource and associate professors at the U of M Medical School, will lead the cell engineering team, a critical component in developing the implantable device. 

“We are very excited to deploy our years of experience in engineering cell lines, primary cells and iPSCs for the end goal of generating cells that can produce nearly any biologic on demand and in an inducible fashion from the confines of a state-of-the-art implantable device to treat a broad spectrum of chronic human diseases,” said Dr. Moriarity.

Unlike traditional monoclonal antibody treatments, which require frequent infusions, this device could provide continuous, long-term therapy—significantly improving patient outcomes.

“If successful, this could open an entirely new field of affordable and effective therapeutics by way of an advanced implantable device housing engineered, biological factory cells,” said Dr. Webber. “Much of the cellular engineering required for this application is only enabled by the discoveries and advances pioneered in our laboratories here at the University of Minnesota.”

This research will pave the way for preclinical studies, with plans to move toward human clinical trials within six years.

This story was authored by Alex Smith for the U of M Medical School.