Houston-area cancer research projects obtain $42M in grants from CPRIT

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas awarded $60.6 million in grants to institutions across Texas, including roughly $42 million to Houston-area cancer research projects, according to an Aug. 21 news release from CPRIT.

"The grants approved ... show the impact CPRIT is having across the board in cancer research," CPRIT CEO Kristen Doyle said in the release. "We are helping Texans conquer cancer."

The details

MD Anderson Cancer Center received nine grants totaling over $21.4 million to support two new core facilities, faculty recruitment, and cancer research across all areas, according to an Aug. 21 news release from MD Anderson.

The two new core facilities the grants will fund will advance research in spatial biology and decision science, MD Anderson President Peter WT Pisters said in the release.

"This work by our world-class scientists and clinicians reflects their unwavering commitment to our goal of ending cancer," Pisters said in the release.

The Baylor College of Medicine received over $17 million from CPRIT, according to an Aug. 21 news release from the college.

The $17 million will support cell therapy in adults and pediatric patients, Helen Heslop, director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, said via news release.

Additionally, Texas Southern University and UT Health Science Center both received $2 million and Rice University received $250,000 for cancer research efforts, according to the CPRIT news release.

Quote of note

"The pipeline CPRIT is creating ensures that the cancer research environment here will continue to be dynamic for years to come," Pavan Reddy, director of the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor, said via news release.

The background

The Texas Legislature created CPRIT in 2007 and has since awarded over $3 billion in grants to Texas cancer research centers, according to CPRIT's news release.

This article comes from our ABC13 partners at Community Impact Newspapers.