Research

Functional immune profiling in intact human tumor tissue 

Cell signaling and intracellular interactions begin to change the moment the tissue is removed from the body, making it difficult to measure immune response. Immune cell egress begins almost immediately and functional signaling declines within hours. So even when tissue is viable, the underlying biology is already changing.

elive™ is a first‑in‑class functional platform built to preserve biology not just tissue. Where conventional preclinical ex vivo models oversimplify immune biology and lose important context, elive preserves tissue architecture and immune infiltrates, enabling measurement of dynamic tissue microenvironment dynamics in its native biological context. The result is a more accurate, translationally relevant prediction of therapeutic responsiveness.

From basic discovery to translational investigation and early drug development

  • Basic researchers benefit from mechanistic insight in preserved living human tissue with data that aligns to NIH’s New Approach Methodology evaluation criteria on reproducibility and translatability.
  • Translational teams get functional cytokine response data with strong concordance to clinical outcomes — anchored in intact human biology.
  • Early drug developers get earlier, more confident go/no-go decisions from human-relevant data — before clinical trial investment.

 

Preserve biology and make it measurable

elive™ is a purpose-built platform of instruments, consumables, and reagents designed to functionally maintain and profile live tissue samples with precision. The three components — Edge, Gel, and Method — are engineered to work together as a complete system or individually based on your lab's needs.

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elive™ Edge: Proprietary automated cutting instrument

  • Generates uniform, 300 μm thick fragments

  • Oscillates to reduce tissue damage

  • Slices to optimal thickness for optimal nutrient diffusion


    See the data →

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elive™ Gel: Novel hydrogel that preserves biology
  • Maintains native stromal and immune cells

  • Sustains metabolic activity

  • Preserves functional immune signaling

    See the data → 

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elive™ Method: Sequential treatment strategy
  • Applies treatment and control to same tissue

  • Enables paired functional comparison

  • Eliminates the need for cross-well design

    See the data → 
Built on peer-reviewed science and clinical data
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Platform paper published in the Journal of Translational Medicine, January 2026

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450+ subjects enrolled in ongoing clinical trials across 10+ tumor types

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Four platform deployments, supporting several diverse research studies 

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Independent validation of cytokine profiling to assess immune response: Netherlands Cancer Institute (Nature Medicine, 2021) and AstraZeneca, NSCLC (Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2026) 


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elive is available for use in your lab through a straightforward access model:

  • License the elive™ Edge instrument
  • Purchase consumables (blades, elive™ Gel) per sample
  • No-fee annual license for elive™ Method, contingent on citation in publications and scientific communications

Ready to get into the details?

If you're interested in learning about how elive™ could accelerate scientific discovery, fill out the form below and we'll be in touch.

Pooja Advani
Pooja Advani,
MBBD, MD

Medical Oncologist
Breast Cancer
Mayo Clinic
David Braun
David Braun,
MD, PhD

Medical Oncologist
Kidney Cancer
Yale School of Medicine
Christian Capitini
Christian Capitini, MD
Director
UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center
Kevin Eliceiri
Kevin Eliceiri, PhD
Professor of Microscopy, Medical Imaging & AI
The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Janis_Marie_Taube
Janis Marie Taube,
MD, MSc

Pathologist
Melanoma
Johns Hopkins Medicine