(AUSTIN) Today, the governing body of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) approved $60.6 million in grants to advance the state’s fight against cancer. The grants fund a wide array of academic research projects, including CPRIT Scholar recruitment awards, innovative core facilities, and developmental research focusing on promising new insights into the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer.
“The grants approved today show the impact CPRIT is having across the board in cancer research,” said CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle. “By supporting the vital core facilities that researchers need, funding groundbreaking research and deepening the bench of clinical trial investigators, CPRIT is fulfilling the promise central to our mission: we are helping Texans conquer cancer.”
Core Facilities
Nine of the grants approved today provide funding for critical research hubs across Texas called core facilities. Core facilities offer coordinated technologies, services, and expertise for cancer researchers.
A Core Facility Support awards approved today establishes the first Advanced Spatial Genomics (ASG) core facility at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Until recently, most genomic technologies such as DNA and RNA sequencing required scientists to grind up tumor tissues to extract molecules for analysis. This process means losing the complex composition of the different cell types and their spatial arrangement within the tumor, which makes it difficult to understand the complex environment of cancer cells. Spatial genomics is an exciting new field that allows cancer researchers to directly connect the images of cells and their tissue structures with genomic data while preserving the spatial context. This provides the researchers with the ability to see exactly where distinct types of cells are located within a tumor and determine the genes and proteins they are expressing. This breakthrough gives researchers the opportunity to create a three-dimensional atlas - dubbed the “Google Map of the human body.”
The ASG will provide comprehensive services and expertise for tissue processing, slide imaging, spatial genomics technologies, and spatial data analysis methods for cancer researchers in the Texas Medical Center area and across Texas. This groundbreaking facility will have a profound impact on cancer research and improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients in Texas.
CPRIT provided funding for eight additional core facilities today, including a High Performance Mass Spectrometry Imaging Core Facility at The University of Texas at Austin and a Pediatric Cancer Data Core at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
Clinical Trials
CPRIT also awarded substantial funding to expand access to innovative cancer clinical trials.
Cancer clinical trials evaluate the safety and effectiveness of new treatments or therapies in patients. These trials help determine whether a new drug, treatment protocol, or medical approach is more effective or safer than existing standard treatments or strategies. Ultimately, cancer clinical trials contribute to the development of better treatment options for cancer patients, including new drugs, surgical techniques, or groundbreaking medical devices.
Expanded access and participation in clinical trials is a priority for CPRIT. Today, the board approved six Clinical Investigator Awards for $32 million to increase the pool of clinical investigators conducting patient-oriented studies in Texas. These awards support mid-career clinician scientists in their efforts to devote more time to clinical cancer research, as well as help build the next generation of clinical investigators.
Currently there are over 57,000 patients enrolled in CPRIT-supported clinical trials in Texas.
In addition to the grant awards, two CPRIT advisory committees presented their annual reports to the board.
David Gerber, M.D., chair of the CPRIT Clinical Trials Advisory Committee, presented the committee’s report to the board regarding opportunities to increase CPRIT’s impact on translating basic discoveries to clinical trials. Dr. Gerber is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Hematology/Oncology.
Andrew Strong and Michele Park, Ph.D., chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the CPRIT Product Development Advisory Committee, also presented their report regarding prospects for expanding the state’s growing life science ecosystem by attracting early-stage oncology companies to Texas. Mr. Strong is a partner with Hogan Lovells, LLP, and Dr. Park is a partner with New Enterprise Associates, Inc.
ABOUT CPRIT
Created by the Texas Legislature and approved by a statewide vote in 2007, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) leads the Lone Star State’s fight against cancer. In 2019, Texas voters again voted overwhelmingly to support CPRIT with an additional $3 billion, for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention.
To date, the agency has awarded more than $3 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention, and product development research programs. CPRIT has also recruited 323 distinguished researchers to Texas, supported the establishment, expansion, or relocation of 67 companies to Texas, and supported 9.9 million prevention services reaching all 254 counties in Texas.
The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House appoint the members of the Oversight Committee. The board meets at least once every quarter to set the priorities for the agency as well as vote on proposed, peer-reviewed cancer research and prevention grants to institutions, organizations, and companies throughout the state.
Once processed, video of the meeting will be available here: https://meeting.cprit.texas.gov
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CPRIT AWARDS
August 21, 2024
To search grant information online, visit our grant database on our website.
Clinical Investigator Awards
RP240441
Jianjun Zhang
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $1,098,945
Precision Lung Cancer Interception by Targeting High-Risk Lung Nodules
RP240442
Kevin Courtney
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $913,682
Identifying and exploiting novel metabolic vulnerabilities in the treatment of kidney cancer
RP240473
Bilal Omer
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $1,046,414
Signal-Augmented Cancer Cell Therapies: Integrating Advanced Correlatory Studies and Mentorship
RP240478
Meenakshi Hegde
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $1,030,892
Advancing immunotherapy for high-risk cancers in children and adolescents
RP240518
Neil Desai
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $1,460,229
Adapting radiotherapy clinical trials to treatment response and artificial intelligence innovations
RP240557
Jennifer McQuade
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $1,074,727
Dietary intervention to modulate the microbiome and immune response
Core Facility Awards
RP240430
Dong Liang
Texas Southern University (Houston) $2,000,000
GCC Center for Comprehensive PK/PD & Formulation
RP240432
Christine Beeton
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $1,999,882
Advanced Multiparameter Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core
RP240494
Ralph J DeBerardinis
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $2,601,616
Children’s Research Institute Metabolomics Core: Advanced Methodologies in Cancer Metabolism
RP240497
Nicholas Navin
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $2,999,993
Advanced Spatial Genomics Core Facility
RP240508
Robert J Volk
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $2,995,778
The Texas Decision Science Core Facility: A CPRIT Population Science Core
RP240521
Yang Xie
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $1,999,760
Pediatric Cancer Data Core
RP240545
Natalia Lapteva
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $2,000,000
Renewal of CPRIT GMP Core
RP240559
Jennifer S Brodbelt
The University of Texas at Austin (Austin) $1,998,763
High Performance Mass Spectrometry Imaging Core Facility
RP240610
Zhongming Zhao
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Houston) $2,000,000
UTHealth Cancer Genomics Core (UTHealth CGC)
High Impact / High Risk Research Awards
RP240446
Alexey Soshnev
The University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio) $249,561
Regulation of Transcription Factor Function by Local Chromatin Context
RP240454
Everett Stone
The University of Texas at Austin (Austin) $249,998
Reversing Tumor Immune Exclusion with Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Depleting Therapeutics
RP240462
Elena Maria Zannoni
The University of Texas at Austin (Austin) $250,000
Development of an Endoscopic Nuclear Imaging Capsule for Radio-Guided Cancer Surgery
RP240493
Wen Jiang
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $250,000
Engineering in vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) macrophages for diffuse midline glioma
RP240498
Girgis Obaid
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson) $248,991
Improving the management of gastric peritoneal carcinomatosis with Photo-Betabody Immunotherapy
RP240501
Zhenpeng Qin
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson) $250,000
Delivering Immunotherapy more effectively to glioblastoma with a ���magnetic switch”
RP240516
Ram S Mani
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $250,000
Mapping multivalent chromatin interactions to define the 3D genome of Clear cell renal cell carcinoma
RP240539
Anna-Karin Gustavsson
Rice University (Houston) $250,000
Spectroscopy for quantitative real-time imaging of radical formation in ultra-high dose rate radiation therapy
RP240542
Baowei Fei
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson) $250,000
Digital Twin Augmented Reality for Prostate Laparoscopic Surgery
RP240579
Jie Zheng
The University of Texas at Dallas (Richardson) $250,000
Renal Clearable Nano Delivery Systems for Maximizing Anti-tumor Immunity in Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis Treatment
RP240590
Kevin Dalby The University of Texas at Austin (Austin) $249,996
Bidentate ERK Traps: Revolutionizing Combination Cancer Therapy Strategies
RP240605
Shouxiong Huang
Texas Biomedical Research Institute (San Antonio) $249,484
Stimulate Mucosal-associated Invariant T cells to Kill Cancer Cells
Multi-Investigator Awards
RP240438
Cliona M Rooney
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $4,500,000
Overcoming major barriers to the delivery of successful T-cell immunotherapies
RP240439
Sattva Neelapu
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $4,500,000
Innovative cell therapy approaches for hematological and solid malignancies
RP240440
Richard Gorlick
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $4,498,684
Novel Therapies for Osteosarcoma
RP240474
Leonid S Metelitsa
Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $4,497,964
Cellular Immunotherapies for Pediatric Solid Tumors
RP240489
Sean Morrison
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) $4,362,563
Neural Regulation of Childhood Cancers
CPRIT Scholar Recruitment Awards
RR240070 Louai Labanieh Baylor College of Medicine (Houston) $2,000,000
RR240076 Hojong Yoon The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $2,000,000
RR240079 Marianna Trakala The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) $2,000,000
RR240082 Yanjun Sun The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston $2,000,000