Philanthropic Gift Honors Legacy, Advances Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech

 When his father, J.P. Singh, passed away from cancer after a grueling course of advanced treatments, including immunotherapy, Abhijeet Singh turned his grief into action. The Atlanta tech executive has made a generous philanthropic gift to the Georgia Institute of Technology to support cutting-edge research in immunoengineering, an emerging field that could one day prevent others from enduring the same loss. “My father saw life as something precious - something to fight for, no matter the odds,” said Abhijeet Singh, President and CEO of TechSera, Inc. “This gift is a tribute to his incredible courage and spirit and a testament to carrying forward his hope of building safer, more effective treatments for patients like him.”

Immunotherapy, a new drug, has transformed cancer care in the last decade, helping many patients live longer by awakening the immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells. Yet even as these therapies become more common, scientists are still working to fully understand the consequences of manipulating the body’s most powerful defense system. In some cases, triggering an immune response against cancer can also weaken the body’s ability to fight off opportunistic infections, a paradox that cost J.P. Singh his life.

The gift will support Georgia Tech’s Center for Immunoengineering, a pioneering effort uniting scientists and engineers to develop bioengineered technologies and immune-based therapies for infections, cancer, and autoimmune diseases. “Georgia Tech is leading the way in immunoengineering with the brilliance, expertise, infrastructure, and clinical partnerships to solve the unthinkable,” said Abhijeet Singh. “We wanted to contribute to that momentum. Supporting the Center for Immunoengineering is deeply personal. It means giving families like mine a reason to hope. It's not just about research, it's about lighting the path for future scientists, accelerating lifesaving innovations, and preserving a legacy built on love, strength, and the belief that we can make things better." With a focus on safer, more effective treatments, the Center aims to transform personalized healthcare and improve outcomes for patients facing some of today’s most challenging diseases. 

“This gift comes at a pivotal moment for the field of immunoengineering,” said Ankur Singh, Carl Ring Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, and the director of the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech. “I’ll never forget my conversation with Abhijeet. His father’s struggle underscores the complexity of the immune system. It highlights a crucial gap in medical science: the need for deeper insight into how immunity functions — and fails — across diseases.” 
The Center for Immunoengineering is investing in education by training the next generation of leaders and translating breakthroughs from lab to clinic to marketplace. With a dual focus on discovery and education, the gift aims to empower faculty-driven research and cultivate the next generation of scientists and engineers dedicated to transforming how immune-based diseases are treated. The multi-year support from the Singh family will help sustain and amplify the Center’s core mission, bringing hope to patients and families across the globe. 

"This generous gift will empower us to take bold, high-risk, high-reward research to the next level,” said IBB Executive Director Andrés J. García, Regents’ Professor and the Petit Director’s Chair in Bioengineering and Bioscience. “Providing seed grants gives us the flexibility to explore uncharted territory in immunoengineering research that could lead to groundbreaking breakthroughs in cancer treatment, infectious diseases, and beyond. With this support, we are not just advancing science today but laying the foundation for transformative therapies in the future."