The South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research at UTRGV has received a $6 million grant that will be used for research infrastructure and to determine why there is a cancer health disparity in the Rio Grande Valley.
The Texas Regional Excellence in Cancer is an award from the Cancer, Prevention & Research Institute of Texas and is for universities or institutions “which are away from the main [National Cancer Institute] designated cancer centers,” according to Murali Yallapu, associate professor for the Immunology and Microbiology department in the UTRGV School of Medicine and member of the South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research.
“Particularly, we have a NCI-designated cancer center in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas,” Yallapu said. “The institution has to be away from those places, at least 100 miles. So, this center mechanism allows to make a bigger center so that you can improve the cancer research in that particular institution.”
The state-funded Cancer, Prevention & Research Institute of Texas has awarded more than $3 billion for research and helps in the recruitment of faculty, he said.
“They help with prevention, academic research, recruiting faculty and giving [research] projects to the industry so that they can develop a molecule or anything that helps detection in the therapy of cancer research,” Yallapu said.
UTRGV South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research is an initiative to enhance cancer research in the Rio Grande Valley, said Subhash Chauhan, a professor in the Immunology and Microbiology Department and director of the center.
“The RGV is highly affected by cancer, certain types of cancer, especially liver cancer, cervical cancer, gallbladder cancer and other cancers,” Chauhan said. “There is no kind of comprehensive research facility here in the Valley for conducting cancer research and looking for aspects, like how and why these cancers are so high, why there is a disparity in the RGV for these cancers.
“So, the focus of this cancer research center is to identify some of those etiological factors that are affecting this cancer high disparity here in the RGV.”
Chauhan explained how the grant will be used.
“So, again, the idea is to, No. 1, enhance research infrastructure here in the Valley,” he said. “No. 2, look very deeply in certain cancers, especially liver cancer, and see what … we are doing wrong and how we can correct some of those things and find out why there is a cancer health disparity in this region. Can we develop some preventative strategies or some better therapeutic strategies or are they diagnostic strategies, community connection, so that we understand the community better.”
Chauhan said the grant will also support some junior research investigators and allow the center to broaden its spectrum and hire new researchers.
The funding will also help recruit for the center’s epidemiology area, which needs more researchers, Yallapu said. The center is also hoping it can provide research platforms for undergraduates, graduate students and medical student residents.
“This is a great opportunity for all students, residents, faculty and researchers,” Yallapu said. “We should take advantage and explore the new possibilities in cancer research, particularly in health disparities and developing new imaging tools or technologies that can help all the detection and diagnosis and also the therapeutic areas of the research.”
This grant will also bring some attention to the center, helping it become better established as a cancer research center, according to Chauhan.
“We [will be] on the map of Texas,” he said. “[The] RGV will be one of the spots like, ‘OK, here people are doing cancer research and they have an established cancer research center here.’”
Chauhan explained that research infrastructure and facilities like this one are important and are needed at any geographical location if there are high cancer disparities.
“I’m really thankful for UTRGV leadership and UTRGV School of Medicine leadership for supporting this initiative and providing me with this opportunity to write this [grant] application,” he said. “I would especially like to thank everyone, our team members and everything.”
