ARPA-H Invests $135.7M to Uncover the Body's Lymphatic Highway

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today announced the research and development teams selected to carry out the Lymphatic Imaging, Genomics, and pHenotyping Technologies (LIGHT) program—a historic investment in lymphatics research of up to $135.7M over 5 years. These teams will develop the first comprehensive diagnostic toolkit to allow healthcare providers to detect problems with the lymphatic system earlier than existing methods, as part of a routine physical exam. Millions of Americans with lymphatic dysfunction—including an estimated 10 million living with lymphedema (extraordinary swelling around lymph nodes)—are misdiagnosed or never diagnosed at all. The consequences are profound: delayed or inappropriate treatment, preventable hospitalizations, missed days at work or school, disfigurement, disability, and even death. While imaging and genetic diagnostics for other organ systems have surged ahead, lymphatic diagnostics lag decades behind. Among those awarded is HSS, which aims to create the first-ever “GeneLoad” score to detect lymphatic dysfunction and predict an individual’s risk of developing lymphedema, including in patients with autoimmune disease, so high-risk patients can be identified and treated proactively before irreversible swelling and disability occur.