The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas awarded $2.5 million to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, according to a Sept. 14 news release.
The funds were awarded in five grants, four of which are considered high-impact/high-risk research awards, providing short-term funding to explore high-risk projects that have the potential to contribute significant new insights into cancer etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.
MD Anderson President Peter Pisters, MD, said that the organization is grateful for the support.
"Funding innovative, high-risk research ideas in their early stages is crucial, as these have the potential to lead to truly transformational breakthroughs with the potential to benefit patients throughout Texas and beyond," Dr. Pisters said.
Awards to MD Anderson include:
- Early Clinical Investigator Award
- Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, MD, PhD, Neurosurgery - $1.5 million
- High-Impact/High-Risk Research Awards
- Reversing aging-associated resistance to cancer immunotherapy, Wen Jiang, MD, PhD - $249,976
- Fasting-induced microbiome changes and radioprotection, Helen Piwnica-Worms, PhD - $249,999
- Restoration of phagocytosis function of glioma-associated microglia/macrophage by activating QKI-PPARb-RXRa, Jian Hu, PhD - $250,000
- Identification of enhancers of T-cell anti-tumor activity in PDAC using CRISPR activation screening, Anirban Maitra, MBBS - $250,000