UTMB receives $8.2 million from CPRIT for cancer research and prevention

Faculty at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have received three grants totaling more than $8.2 million in funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

“We appreciate this funding, and thank Texas taxpayers and CPRIT. The funds will allow our talented faculty to continue their work to prevent cancer and discover effective cancer therapies,” said Dr. Danny Jacobs, executive vice president, provost and dean of the School of Medicine.

A $6 million grant will allow researchers to study cancer treatments and their outcomes for patients. The study seeks to identify which tests and treatments work best for patients. Knowledge gained from the study will help doctors to better present treatment options to patients. Dr. James Goodwin, UTMB’s George and Cynthia Mitchell Distinguished Chair in Geriatric Medicine, is the principal investigator.

A $1.4 million grant will focus on increasing the number of women who receive a full series of the human papillomavirus vaccine. Led by Dr. Abbey Berenson, director for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health, the project will focus on reaching low-income women in Southeast Texas.

Another cancer prevention project received more than $747,000 for a school-based HPV vaccination program in the lower Rio Grande Valley. The project is led by Dr. Ana Rodriquez, assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at UTMB.

To date, CPRIT has awarded 1,059 grants totaling more than $1.64 billion. The agency was launched in 2009 after Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a 2007 constitutional amendment committing $3 billion to the fight against cancer.

CPRIT’s prevention grants support prevention services for some of the most vulnerable populations in Texas.