After launching the collaboration and establishing ambitious objectives, the Engineering Cancer Cures program funded two pilot projects. Two of the working groups each received $100,000 for one-year research projects. The first group will develop a model to predict the prognosis of a common type of liver cancer following thermal ablation, a procedure that uses heat to destroy or remove cancerous tissue. The second group is developing technology to help predict tumors and prognosis using a biopsy or surgical specimen combined with mRNA technology. This will enhance the research team’s knowledge of certain cell types, functions, and changes that may influence cancer.