AUSTIN — The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) today awarded 10 new academic research grants totaling $38 million to recruit eminent cancer researchers to Texas.
“As overwhelmingly affirmed earlier this month, voters want Texas to be the center of world-class cancer research,” said Wayne Roberts, CPRIT Chief Executive Officer. “These recruits will assist CPRIT achieve Texans’ aspirations.”
Two Established Investigator awards and a Rising Star award will bring three international leaders in synthetic biology to Rice University to study immunotherapy, gastrointestinal cancer treatments, and bacterial applications for cancer therapy. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Established Investigator award will recruit a pioneer in the study of leukemia and lymphoma to lead their research program for hematological malignancies, and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will recruit a world-leading physician-scientist to study skeletal complications resulting from cancer and cancer treatment.
Five First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Member grants were made to recruit and keep promising young researchers in Texas. Recipients include Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
CPRIT’s recruitment awards bring top talent in cancer research to Texas, and are designed to attract the finest cluster of cancer researchers in the world. Recruits accepting the awards are given the prestigious “CPRIT Scholar” designation. CPRIT awards three types of recruitment grants: Established Investigators for senior research faculty with distinguished professional careers and established cancer research programs; Rising Stars for early-stage investigators who have demonstrated promising continued and enhanced contributions to the field; and First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty for emerging investigators pursuing their first faculty appointment who are expected to make outstanding contributions in cancer research. To date, there are 192 CPRIT Scholars across Texas.
To learn more about CPRIT Scholars at Texas institutions and the vital contribution they make to cancer research, please visit http://scholars.cprit.texas.gov.
See the attached list for all of the academic research grants awarded.
About the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
To date, CPRIT has awarded $2.43 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention, and product development research programs. CPRIT has recruited 192 distinguished researchers, supported the establishment, expansion or relocation of 36 companies to Texas, and generated over $4.5 billion in additional public and private investment. CPRIT funding has advanced scientific and clinical knowledge and provided 5.9 million life-saving cancer prevention and early detection services reaching Texans from all 254 counties. On November 5, 2019, Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to reauthorize CPRIT and provide an additional $3 billion for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention.
Learn more at cprit.texas.gov. Follow CPRIT on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
AWARDED RESEARCH GRANTS
Recruitment of Established Investigator Awards* — Four grants totaling $24,000,000
- Caroline M. Ajo-Franklin, PhD, Recruitment to Rice University from the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — $6,000,000
- Theresa Guise, MD, Recruitment to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center from the Indiana University School of Medicine — $6,000,000
- Ulrich Steidl, MD, PhD, Recruitment to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center — $6,000,000
- Lingchong You, PhD, Recruitment to Rice University from Duke University — $6,000,000
Recruitment of Rising Star Awards* — One grant totaling $4,000,000
- Chang Liu, PhD, Recruitment to Rice University from the University of California Irvine — $4,000,000
Recruitment of First-Time, Tenure-Track Faculty Members Awards* — Five grants totaling $10,000,000
- Eric Welin, PhD, Recruitment to The University of Texas at Dallas from the California Institute of Technology — $2,000,000
- Gloria Echeverria, PhD, Recruitment to Baylor College of Medicine from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — $2,000,000
- Matteo Ligorio, MD, PhD, Recruitment to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from Massachusetts General Hospital — $2,000,000
- Benjamin Drapkin, MD, PhD, Recruitment to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute & Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center — $2,000,000
- Michelle Ward, PhD, Recruitment to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston from the University of Chicago — $2,000,000
*Recruitment grants awarded indicate only approval to negotiate offers; at the time of release candidates have not accepted offers.
###