(AUSTIN) The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas joined Livestrong Cancer Institutes at Dell Medical School, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering & Sciences to host a symposium focused on expanding Texas leadership in the groundbreaking field of computational oncology. The event was held adjacent to the UT Austin campus at the Dell Medical School Health Learning Building and was livestreamed to a pre-registered audience.
“CPRIT is proud to help sponsor events like this to propel innovative cancer research forward,” said CPRIT CEO Wayne Roberts. “This is an important part of our mission to help build the health science infrastructure in Texas by bringing our preeminent research institutions together through collaboration.”
Dr. Tom Yankeelov, Director of the Center for Computational Oncology at the Oden Institute and a CPRIT Scholar, kicked off the symposium with welcoming remarks.
“There is clearly a great deal of expertise in the state of Texas within the broad area of computational oncology,” said Yankeelov. “This includes efforts from AI/Big Data to mechanistic-based mathematical models. Such efforts can be fragmented and the various teams may not be maximally aware of each other. Thus the need for a CPRIT conference focused on computational oncology; to bring these investigators together to accelerate progress to improve patient outcome.”
Other topics throughout the day included the use of A.I. in clinical practice, deep learning, genomics, immunotherapy, microRNA therapy and more.
The symposium featured more than a dozen speakers from across Texas, including five CPRIT grantees and two CPRIT scholars.
CPRIT is hosting its own Innovations in Cancer Prevention and Research Conference VI on October 2nd and 3rd in Galveston, Texas. Learn more at www.texascancerconference.org
ABOUT CPRIT
The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was created by the Texas Legislature and approved by a statewide vote in 2007 to lead 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 over $3 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention, and product development research programs. CPRIT has also recruited more than 288 distinguished researchers to Texas, supported the establishment, expansion, or relocation of 51 companies to Texas, and supported more than 8.2 million prevention services reaching all 254 counties in Texas.
The Oversight Committee is composed of appointees from the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House and 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 throughout the state.