We recently announced the winners of our 2025 Beacon Discovery™ Global Grant Program. These selected researchers stood out for their innovative use of single-cell functional analysis to tackle complex biological questions in immunology, oncology, and cell therapy. Each project showcases how the Beacon Discovery optofluidic platform can reveal previously inaccessible functional insights at the single-cell level. Read on to learn more about how they will elevate their research with functional single-cell biology.
Grant Recipient: Dr. Tomokazu Sumida, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine
Project Title: Single-Cell Dissection of T cell–B cell Dialogues: Mapping Helper and Killer Functions in Human CD4⁺ T Cells
Dr. Sumida’s research aims to define the molecular basis of T cell dysfunction in human diseases, with a special focus on regulatory T cells, through the use of cutting-edge single-cell and systems biology approaches. He is particularly interested in understanding the dual functionality of CXCL13-producing CD4⁺ T cells, which exhibit both B cell-helper and cytotoxic properties in inflammatory environments such as autoimmune diseases and cancers. His team has developed an in vitro differentiation system that recapitulates this functional heterogeneity under chronic stimulation.
Leveraging Beacon Discovery’s single-cell resolution and real-time functional assays, Dr. Sumida will identify molecular signatures of T cells that drive B cell support and delineate the regulatory mechanisms that govern opposing T cell functions, which could inform targeted therapies for autoimmune diseases and B cell-driven cancers.
Grant Recipient: Gabriele Inchingolo
PhD Student, Dr. Luca Gattinoni’s Lab, Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy
Project Title: In Vivo Clonal Dynamics of Alloreactive CAR T Cells Following Allogeneic CAR T Cell Therapy
The Gattinoni lab has spent more than 20 years advancing T cell-based immunotherapies aimed at curing advanced-stage cancers. Allogeneic CAR T-cell therapies show promise in treating relapsed/refractory B cell malignancies, but risks such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) limit broader clinical adoption. Mr. Inchingolo’s work in the Gattinoni lab investigates the mechanisms behind the absence of GvHD observed in a recent clinical study where donor-derived anti-CD19 CAR T cells failed to trigger alloresponses in HLA-mismatched patients with prior GvHD history following allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation. Using the Beacon Discovery system, Mr. Inchingolo aims to identify rare, alloreactive CAR T cell clones in these patients and track their clonal evolution over time, by integrating real-time single-cell functional assays, immune profiling, and live-cell imaging with transcriptomic and TCR sequencing.
This project will provide the first comprehensive, functional, single-cell characterization of alloreactive CAR T-cell clones in humans, offering key insights into immune regulation and paving the way for safer next-generation allogeneic CAR T therapies.
Grant Recipient: Dr. Joshua Halpin, PhD
Post-Doctoral Research Officer, Dr. Kavitha Gowrishankar’s Lab, Children’s Cancer Research Unit, Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Project Title: Advancing TCR Immunotherapies for Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Functional Single-Cell Analysis
The Gowrishankar lab is focused on engineering safe and effective chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and developing transgenic T cell receptors for both hematological and solid organ malignancies. Dr. Halpin’s work in the Gowrishankar lab targets the challenge of developing T cell receptor (TCR)-based immunotherapies for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a disease known for its heterogeneity and resistance to existing therapies.
Identifying high-affinity, tumor-specific TCRs remains a bottleneck in AML immunotherapy development. By integrating Beacon Discovery’s high-throughput single-cell screening into their research, Dr. Halpin aims to rapidly identify T cells with AML-specific TCRs, functionally validate TCR candidates through real-time assays for cytokine secretion and tumor cell killing, and prioritize only potent, safe, and clinically relevant TCRs for preclinical and clinical development. This project aims to accelerate discovery timelines and improve success rates for TCR-based therapies, potentially offering novel treatment options for AML patients.
Follow their Journey with Beacon Discovery
Each of these projects illustrates the transformative potential of live, functional single-cell analysis in translational research. From immune cell crosstalk and CAR T-cell tolerance to TCR discovery in hard-to-treat cancers, these studies will leverage the Beacon Discovery platform’s precision and throughput to develop new understanding of complex cellular mechanisms and, potentially, next-generation therapies. Stay tuned for project updates as our 2025 grant winners push the boundaries of what’s possible in single-cell biology with functional analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Beacon Discovery instrument?
The Beacon Discovery instrument is Bruker’s optofluidic system for functional single-cell analysis. It allows researchers to observe live cellular behavior, measure cytokine secretion and killing activity in real time, maximize antibody discovery success with function-first B-cell screening, and connect functional data to DNA/RNA sequencing from the same cell.
What is the Beacon Discovery Global Grant Program?
The grant program supports innovative projects worldwide in immunology, oncology, and cell therapy. Winners receive access to Beacon Discovery instrument runs and expert consultation to accelerate their research.