Millions in Federal Funding, Grants, Announced

Funding for valuable research programs at several Texas Medical Center institutions was approved in October by the U.S. Congress. U. S. representative Ken Bentsen (D-TX), whose 25th Congressional District includes the Texas Medical Center, announced the funding.

The Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services (DREAMS) project will receive $10 million as part of the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Appropriations Bill. DREAMS is a collaborative project between The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center and Texas A&M University, and is conducted in cooperation with the U. S. Army Medical Research and Material Command. The project uses advanced telemedicine to improve and speed diagnosis and treatment for injured patients on the battlefield and in civilian disaster settings. The project's goal is to improve detection, diagnosis, decontamination and treatment for chemical and biological warfare agents, and to develop new diagnostic methods and therapies for shock and injuries.

"The DREAMS project will help to save lives and reduce costs," said Bentsen. "It will increase the survivability of America's soldiers wounded on the battlefield, as well as civilians injured in industrial and natural disasters."

DREAMS was initiated in 1996 by UT-Houston and was expanded to include Texas A&M which offers expertise in telecommunications technology. DREAMS originated in Houston because the city and county have a high incidence of penetrating and blunt trauma, industrial accidents, floods and hurricanes.

A $7 million grant has been awarded The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to conduct lung cancer research. The federal funds are part of the Fiscal Year 2000 Defense Appropriations Bill. M. D. Anderson will use the funds to further improve lung cancer treatment and make a significant impact in several areas, including smoking cessation, early diagnosis and inhibition of cancer development in active and former smokers, and improved treatment and survival for patients with active lung cancer.

"The practices of the Department of Defense during World War II, Korea and Vietnam, encouraged smoking among our soldiers," said Bentsen. "This Appropriations Bill bolsters my belief that the government has a responsibility to help fund research to improve treatment and survival rates for lung cancer patients."

M. D. Anderson's Biology, Education, Screening, Chemoprevention and Treatment (BESCT) program will receive the funding.

The Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) will receive $12.2 million for its research programs. The funding comes from H.R. 1906, the Fiscal Year 2000 House Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The CNRC at Baylor College of Medicine was founded in 1978 and operates in cooperation with Texas Children's Hospital.

Research programs at the CNRC have focused on essential nutrition requirements, calcium requirements for young girls and childhood obesity. Outcomes from these studies will, hopefully, provide information on reducing the incidence of low birthweight babies and in preventing diseases such as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and diabetes in later life.

The Children's Assessment Center has been awarded an $80,000 grant to fund a five-year research study to better diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases contracted by adolescent victims of sexual abuse. The grant is awarded through the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The mission of the Children's Assessment Center is to protect children by providing housing, agency collaboration and the use of multi-disciplinary approach in the prevention, assessment, investigation, referral for prosecution and treatment of child sexual abuse.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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