Funding Opportunities
The Columbia Initiative in Cell Engineering and Therapy (CICET) supports innovative research in cell engineering and cell-based therapies across Columbia University. Through its pilot funding programs, CICET provides targeted support for preclinical projects that benefit from cross-disciplinary collaboration and specialized expertise. These funding opportunities are intended to advance the development and evaluation of cell-based therapeutic approaches and to strengthen the foundation for future translational progress.
2026 Pilot Awards and Awardees
- Pinkus Exploratory Cell Therapy Award
- Exploratory Cell Engineering Awards
- Translational Cell Therapy Awards
- CICET/HICCC-POSB Joint Pilot Award
Pinkus Exploratory Cell Therapy Award
A signature pilot award supporting exceptional early-career investigators pursuing innovative cell engineering approaches, established through a philanthropic partnership with the Pinkus Foundation.
Awardee
Sascha Haubner, MD
- Proxiome Targeting to Enhance CAR T-Cell Efficacy and Safety in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Exploratory Cell Engineering Awards
Pilot awards that support early-stage, preclinical research advancing novel concepts, tools, and technologies in cell engineering with potential relevance to cell-based therapeutic applications.
Awardees
Andrea Califano, PhD
- Engineering iPSC-Derived CAR T Cells for “Off-the-Shelf” Cancer Immunotherapy
Jing Fu, PhD
- Development of In Vivo CAR-Phagocytes for AL Amyloidosis Immunotherapy
Naomi Latorraca, PhD
- A Biophysical Toolkit for Developing GPCRs as CAR T-Cell Targets
Shawn Liu, PhD
- Mutation-Agnostic Silencing of Pathological Alleles in Inborn Errors of Immunity by CRISPR-IMPRINT
Akanksha Thawani, PhD
- All-RNA Transgene Insertion Using R2 Retroelements
Joshua Weiner, MD
- Generation and Functional Testing of HLA-Specific Human CAR Tregs
Translational Cell Therapy Awards
Pilot awards that support advanced preclinical studies focused on establishing feasibility, efficacy, and safety for defined cell therapy strategies, with an emphasis on generating data to support translational advancement.
Awardees
Hasan Erbil Abaci, PhD
- Translational Development of an Autologous Wearable 3D Skin Cell Therapy Enabled by Automated Biomanufacturing
Stephen Tsang, MD, PhD
- Precision Genome Surgery in Autologous Stem Cell Transplant
CICET/HICCC-POSB Joint Pilot Award
A joint pilot award with the Columbia Initiative in Cell Engineering and Therapy and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center Precision Oncology and Systems Biology Program, supporting multidisciplinary research that applies systems biology approaches to cancer cell therapy. This award is intended to support collaborative projects focused on target discovery, cell engineering, therapeutic platforms, and translational strategies for oncology.