Georgia Tech receives major funding to develop lymphatic disease therapy

The Georgia Institute of Technology has been awarded up to $21.8 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to deliver a first-of-its-kind therapy to patients with lymphatic disease.

For many of these patients, care has long meant pain and disfigurement alongside other severe side effects, rather than receiving treatment that addresses the disease itself. This new ARPA-H award marks a potential turning point.

Lead researcher Susan Napier Thomas, Woodruff Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB), has collaborated with her colleague J. Brandon Dixon, Woodruff Professor in the Woodruff School and IBB, for more than a decade on this project. The research partners are driven by the lack of meaningful treatment options available to patients.

Funding support at this level is unprecedented. It finally gives us a chance to move beyond symptom management and toward real treatment. We're addressing an underserved population with a huge unmet need."

Susan Napier Thomas, Woodruff Professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering 

A gap in care

The lymphatic system helps keep fluid moving through the body and plays a key role in immune health. When it does not function properly, fluid can build up in tissues, causing chronic pain and other long-term complications. Thomas noted that despite its toll on patients, lymphatic disease has lagged decades behind cardiovascular care in both treatment and research investment.

"We are excited about this groundbreaking project in lymphatic engineering," said Andrés García, IBB executive director. "By uniting interdisciplinary expertise, this work addresses long-standing challenges in lymphatic disease and moves meaningful solutions closer to the patients who need them most."

What comes next

In the coming years, Thomas, Dixon, and their research partners will work toward an initial human trial, with an early focus on rare lymphatic conditions in children, as well as chronic disease in adults.

"This award reflects Georgia Tech's growing leadership in using engineering to solve some of healthcare's biggest challenges," said Carolyn Seepersad, Eugene C. Gwaltney Jr. School Chair and professor in the Woodruff School. "It reinforces the Institute's role in advancing innovations that improve patient care and strengthen Georgia's position as a hub for health technology and biomedical innovation."

The award was made through ARPA-H's Groundbreaking Lymphatic Interventions and Drug Exploration (GLIDE) program led by Dr. Kimberley Steele.