BALTIMORE – July 23, 2026 - Team ATLAS, led by Institut Imagine’s Paul Bastard, has published a commentary in Cell outlining its approach to investigating why some people never develop cancer despite being at high risk. Among the international researchers is Dr Hulett, a co-investigator with team ATLAS which was awarded up to $25 million over five years through Cancer Grand Challenges in March 2026. Cancer Grand Challenges is a global funding initiative co-founded by Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the US, taking on some of the toughest challenges in cancer research.

Unlike traditional research, which focuses on the drivers of disease, team ATLAS is investigating why some people with well-established cancer risks never develop cancer. By understanding what protects these individuals, the team hopes to uncover new insights into cancer development and prevention.

The Cell commentary describes how team ATLAS will investigate whether immune-modulating autoantibodies contribute to cancer resistance. The research will include centenarians, people who have remained cancer-free despite well-established cancer risks, and identical twins where one has developed cancer and the other has not. Dr Hulett and the CDI Labs team will contribute expertise in large-scale antibody profiling to characterize antibody repertoires and help build the Cancer Antibody ATLAS.

“The idea of building a Cancer Immune Response Atlas dates back to my doctoral research at Oregon Health & Science University, in the Earle A Chiles Research Institute, where I first proposed using protein microarrays and bacteriophage immunoprecipitation sequencing (PhIP-Seq) to identify the antibodies associated with a lifetime free from cancer,” said Dr Tyler Hulett, PhD, CSO of CDI Labs. “At CDI Labs, our service development work has since shown that autoantibodies form lifelong, individually unique profiles, even in identical twins. It has been remarkable to find colleagues across team ATLAS who independently posed similar scientific questions. Together, we have an opportunity to transform our understanding of how autoantibodies influence cancer development and uncover new opportunities for prevention and treatment.”

Team ATLAS brings together clinicians, advocates and scientists with expertise spanning ageing, early detection, immunology, infectious disease-cancer interplay, multi-omics, paediatrics, and prevention, from eight institutions across six countries.

As team ATLAS advances this ambitious program, its efforts are being supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Susan Wojcicki Foundation and the Torrey Coast Foundation through Cancer Grand Challenges. It is one of five new Cancer Grand Challenges teams announced in March year, representing a total investment of $125m to tackle some of the toughest challenges in cancer research.
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About Cancer Grand Challenges

Co-founded in 2020 by two of the largest funders of cancer research in the world: Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Grand Challenges supports a global community of diverse, world-class research teams to come together, think differently and take on some of cancer’s toughest challenges. These are the obstacles that continue to impede progress and no one scientist, institution or country will be able to solve them alone. With awards of up to $25 million, Cancer Grand Challenges teams are empowered to rise above the traditional boundaries of geography and discipline to make progress against cancer we urgently need.

Cancer Grand Challenges now brings together 1,800 researchers and 21 teams from across the world to take on 18 challenges.

About CDI Laboratories, Inc.

CDI Labs is a specialized lab services company powered by cutting-edge synthetic biology platforms enabling novel serum antibody discovery across the autoreactome and immuno-exposome. CDI Labs is best known for HuProt™ human proteome microarrays – the world’s largest collection of full-length human proteins – and VirScan®, the comprehensive viral exposure phage display platform that maps an individual’s antibody responses against all known viruses. These platforms additionally power discovery beyond immune interactions – including molecular glue screening, novel protein-protein interaction mapping, monoclonal antibody cross-reactivity validation, and epitope mapping.

To learn more about the latest services offered by CDI Labs, please visit our website at cdilabs.com.

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