CPRIT awards $9.6 million for UTSW projects
Six new cancer research projects involving treatment, prevention, outreach, and genetics recently received a total of $9.6 million in support from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The funding will allow UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers to:
- Understand how cancer cells fuel their growth
- Target lung cancer with highly precise carbon radiation treatments
- Screen disadvantaged populations and those at a higher genetic risk to help reduce rates of colorectal cancer
- Reach breast cancer survivors through an active living intervention.
CPRIT also announced $4 million in new recruitment grants to UT Southwestern, which will be coupled with $4 million for recruitment announced in May, to help attract new cancer researchers. UT Southwestern currently has 34 cancer researchers on campus who have been recruited to Texas and UT Southwestern with assistance from CPRIT funding.
"Funding by Texas taxpayers through CPRIT has been fundamental in advancing our initiatives to develop better therapies and expand prevention efforts, as well as attracting top scientists from around the country to bring their knowledge, expertise and accompanying resources to our state," said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern, who holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science. "The exciting research that these awards will support will continue that success and bring us further toward our goal of reducing and eventually eliminating the terrible burden of cancer."
UT Southwestern researchers have been awarded a cumulative total of more than $331 million from CPRIT, including the latest awards, which have helped attract additional awards in basic science research, translational research and outreach and prevention programs.
"Our cancer researchers are continually seeking and finding new solutions to better understand, diagnose, and treat cancer," said Dr. Melanie Cobb, Interim Director of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor of Pharmacology and holder of the Jane and Bill Browning, Jr. Chair in Medical Science. "This effort includes a wide range of projects, from basic scientific findings at the molecular and cellular level needed to understand how cancer develops and spreads, to prevention and outreach efforts."
To date, CPRIT has awarded 1,059 grants to Texas researchers, totaling more than $1.64 billion. The agency was launched in 2009 after Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a 2007 constitutional amendment committing $3 billion to the fight against cancer. Texas has seen steadily declining mortality rates from cancer, which have dropped 13 percent, translating to approximately 3,306 fewer deaths, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Grantees have delivered more than 1.3 million cancer education and 1.5 million clinical preventive services statewide, according to CPRIT.
Awards to UT Southwestern researchers were:
Multi-Investigator Research Award
Dr. Steve Jiang, Professor of Radiation Oncology, holder of the Barbara Crittenden Professorship in Cancer Research* Towards Carbon Beam Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (C-SBRT) for Higher Risk Early Stage Lung Cancer - $4,103,894
High Risk/High Impact Research Award
Dr. Jenna Jewell, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology * Amino Acid Sensing: Directing Cell Growth Through mTORC1 - $198,983 awarded in May 2016
Evidence-Based Cancer Prevention Services
Dr. Amit Singal, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, and the Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care* Implementation of an Evidence-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Outreach Program among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Patients in a Safety Net Health System -$1,499,826
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi, Professor of Psychiatry, holder of the Betty Jo Hay Distinguished Chair in Mental Health and the Julie K. Hersh Chair for Depression Research and Clinical Care* Promoting Activity in Cancer Survivors (PACES): An active living intervention for breast cancer survivors - $1,365,226
Evidence-Based Cancer Prevention Services-Colorectal Cancer Prevention Coalition
Dr. Theodora Ross, Professor of Internal Medicine and Cancer Biology, and Director of Cancer Genetics; holder of the Jeanne Ann Plitt Professorship in Breast Cancer Research, and the H. Ben and Isabelle T. Decherd Chair in Internal Medicine in Honor of Henry M. Winans, Sr., M.D.* Detecting Unaffected Individuals for Lynch Syndrome (DUAL): Screening, Diagnosis and Navigation- $2,100,000
Cancer Prevention Promotion and Navigation to Clinical Services
Dr. Theodora Ross, Professor of Internal Medicine and Cancer Biology, and Director of Cancer Genetics; holder of the Jeanne Ann Plitt Professorship in Breast Cancer Research, and the H. Ben and Isabelle T. Decherd Chair in Internal Medicine, in Honor of Henry M. Winans, Sr., M.D.* Use of Genetic Patient Navigators to Help Mutation Carriers Comply with the NCCN Guidelines and to Enable Healthy Behaviors - $399,954
Please see attachment for lay summaries of these UT Southwestern CPRIT awards.
The Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in North Texas and one of just 47 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation. Simmons Cancer Center includes 13 major cancer care programs. In addition, the Center's education and training programs support and develop the next generation of cancer researchers and clinicians. Simmons Cancer Center is among only 30 U.S. cancer research centers to be designated by the NCI as a National Clinical Trials Network Lead Academic Participating Site.
Provided by UT Southwestern Medical Center