News & Events

CPRIT Legislation Filed – 86th Texas Legislature

01/24/2019

With the 86th Texas Legislature in full swing, here is a summary of filed legislation concerning CPRIT. Please click on the links for more information.

House Joint Resolution 12 (Rep. John Zerwas) - Authorizes a second $3 billion in General Obligation Bonds for cancer research and prevention to be submitted to voters at the general election on November 5, 2019.

House Bill 39 (Rep. John Zerwas) - Removes restriction against new grant awards in FY 2023 in the event additional General Obligation Bonds are authorized by voters or another funding source is used for FY 2023 and beyond.

Senate Bill 438 (Senator Jane Nelson) – Senate companion to House Bill 39.

Senate Bill 200 (Senator Charles Schwertner) - Requires CPRIT to develop a plan for self-sufficiency once 2007 General Obligation Bond funds expire.

CPRIT Presents Legislative Appropriations Request to the Senate Finance Committee

01/23/2019

(AUSTIN) – Today, CPRIT leadership presented the agency’s legislative appropriations request (LAR) to the Senate Finance Committee. Among the highlights is the agency’s exceptional item request of $164 million in General Revenue to maintain grant program current services through FY 2021. Chief Executive Officer Wayne Roberts and Chief Operating Officer Heidi McConnell appeared before the committee to testify on behalf of CPRIT. See the presentation submitted to the committee.

New CPRIT Scholar Grants Recruit Talent to Texas Institutions

11/28/2018

AUSTIN — Today, four new CPRIT Scholar grants totaling $16 million were awarded. The grants will support the recruitment of investigators researching cancers of the brain and digestive system as well as experts in the field of immunotherapy.

“CPRIT Scholars are key to the momentum Texas has achieved in building a cancer-fighting ecosystem,” said Wayne Roberts, CPRIT CEO. “Attracting top talent to our state ensures that Texas institutions are at the cutting-edge of cancer research.”

CPRIT Scholar Morrison Elected to the National Academy of Medicine

10/18/2018

(AUSTIN) – CPRIT Scholar Sean Morrison, Ph.D. of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the Academy, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

CPRIT Grantee Eberlin earns “Genius” Award for Innovative Cancer-detecting Device

10/09/2018

(AUSTIN) – Livia Schiavinato Eberlin Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has won a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, sometimes called a “Genius” award with a no-strings attached prize of $625,000. The fellowship results from her invention of the “MasSpec Pen,” a handheld device that identifies cancerous tissue within 10 seconds during surgical procedures. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas provides the funding to determine if her innovation has practical application. Earlier this year, her work on the device earned an Innovation Award from South by Southwest Interactive, and she consulted on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” that featured the “MasSpec Pen.”

CPRIT Scholar James Allison, PhD Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine

10/01/2018

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Oct. 1, 2018 – James P. Allison, a native of Alice, Texas, son of a country doctor, eminent scholar of the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and pioneer of cancer immunotherapy, has been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine jointly with Tasuku Honjo. For Dr. Allison, the Nobel Prize recognizes his breakthrough work in studying a protein known as CTLA-4, proving that it behaves like a brake on immune responses. In November 2011, Dr. Allison was recruited back to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to study CTLA-4 with the help of a $10 million CPRIT grant.

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