This research award will provide the opportunity for one individual to leverage Akoya’s Opal MOTiF™ immuno-oncology panels and the Vectra® Polaris whole-slide multiplex immunofluorescence platform to perform comprehensive spatial phenotyping of up to 24 pan-I/O tissue samples. The goal of this award is to promote early career scientists poised to transform the immuno-oncology biomarker landscape. The most impactful proposal for cancer immunotherapy research will be selected. The application period for this award is now closed.
Eligibility Criteria
- Hold a PhD degree or combined MD, PhD degree (practicing physicians are not eligible to apply)
- Currently hold a position at an academic cancer center as a postdoctoral fellow, research scientist or comparable position
- Be a SITC member in good standing at time of submission (i.e., current in dues)
- Applicable regulatory (local or central IRB) approval
- Award recipient and award recipient’s institution agree to the research award program terms and conditions as a condition of award acceptance
- Award recipient and recipient’s institution agree in writing to Akoya Biosciences’ Service Terms as a condition of award acceptance
Benefits
This award will provide $25,000 of in-kind material and support to one awardee to process immuno-oncology tissue samples. These samples will be stained with a MOTiF™ multiplex immunofluorescence panel kit and run on the whole slide Phenoptics™ imaging platform conducted by Akoya Biosciences at the Akoya Biosciences’ onsite services laboratory. Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) enables the discovery of a new class of biomarkers, spatial phenotypic signatures, from a single FFPE tissue section, while preserving the spatial context of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Validated biomarkers covered in this award are the most relevant targets for understanding immuno-oncology and TME biology. The awardee will be invited to meet with Akoya Bioscience’s leadership and scientific teams virtually to learn more about Akoya Biosciences, the 7-color MOTiF ™ panel kits, Phenoptics™ workflow including automatic staining and analysis with InForm software. In addition, the awardee will meet with the biomarker scientific team to develop a research plan and review data generated with MOTiF™ mIF expert scientists.