UI cancer researcher James Byrne wins prestigious NIH Director’s New Innovator Award

Byrne’s science draws inspiration from a surprising source: extremotolerant organisms, or classes of life forms capable of surviving and thriving in extreme environmental conditions. Byrne plans to coopt molecular survival strategies from creatures like yeti crabs that live near deep sea hydrothermal vents, and tardigrades (sometimes known as water bears) that can withstand radiation levels 2,000 to 3,000 times higher than humans can tolerate. 

Borrowing concepts from the COVID vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, Byrne has proposed to deliver RNAs designed from these hardy creatures to make proteins that can protect healthy tissue from radiation damage, while still maintaining the radiation’s cell-killing effect on the tumor. 

“Cancer affects a huge number of patients, and although treatment options have improved significantly for many cancers, therapies can still fall short and they can come with harsh side effects that are difficult to tolerate,” says Byrne, who also is a member of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Our goal in developing these novel materials is to address these challenges and open promising new ways to improve treatment for many different types of cancer.” 

“Dr. Byrne is a highly creative scientist, and this is a well-deserved honor,” says Bryan Allen, MBA, MD, PhD, UI professor and DEO of radiation oncology. “He applies an innovative yet practical approach to solve difficult problems in cancer care, and his ideas have huge potential to make cancer therapies both more effective and less toxic on patients.” 

Byrne’s team has also developed several other materials including Gas-Entrapping Materials (GEMs)- in the form of foams, gels and solids - that can deliver targeted doses of gases such as oxygen directly into tumors to improve the effectiveness of chemo- and radiation therapies. His team and collaborators have also generated unique foam GEMs for wound care, demonstrating improved healing in diabetic skin wounds and pressure ulcers through enhanced cell migration and antimicrobial properties. 

“The HRHR program champions exceptionally bold and innovative science that pushes the boundaries of biomedical and behavioral research,” said Tara A. Schwetz, Ph.D., NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives and Director of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, which oversees the NIH Common Fund. “The groundbreaking science pursued by these researchers is poised to have a broad impact on human health.” 

Byrne completed his undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned a medical and doctoral degree at the University of North Carolina and completed a residency in radiation oncology at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. He was named as a Sakonnett Hope Funds post-doctoral fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to his appointment in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Byrne also holds an appointment in the UI Department of Biomedical Engineering. 

Byrne’s research program is also supported by funding from the V Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, Falk Medical Research Trust, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and an NIH/NCI K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award. 

The New Innovator Award, established in 2007, supports unusually innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received a large independent NIH grant. The award is one of four categories of grant awarded through the High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, part of the NIH Common Fund. These prestigious awards are given to scientists proposing exceptionally creative high-risk, high-impact research. To learn more about the 2023 NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program awards, visit the NIH website.