Baylor receives more than $20 million in CPRIT funding

Baylor College of Medicine has been awarded more than $20.7 million in grants by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support innovative cancer research, treatment, prevention measures and community outreach. CPRIT awarded 73 new grants to institutions across Texas, totaling more than $142 million, to advance the fight against cancer, including 11 grants to Baylor.

Several Baylor grants focus on expanding clinical trials and preventative screening for medically underserved Texans, including a $1.5 million grant to Dr. Martha Mims, professor of medicine and section chief of hematology and oncology at Baylor and associate director of clinical research at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Mims’s work will focus on supporting participation in clinical trials at Harris Health System.

“These funding awards align with the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s strategic priorities to expand cancer prevention, clinical trials and survivor care for medically underserved populations,” said Dr. Helen Heslop, professor and interim director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and a Dan L Duncan Chair at Baylor. “We are excited about the opportunity to improve access to clinical trials for our patients at Harris Health System’s Ben Taub Hospital.”

Additional awards to Baylor College of Medicine include:

Core Facility Support Awards

Dr. Dean Edwards, professor of molecular and cellular biology and pathology and immunology: Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility - $3,977,681

Dr. Michael Scheurer, professor of pediatrics – hematology and oncology:
The Adolescent and Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Susceptibility Service (ACCESS) for Texas - $4,000,000

High Impact/High Risk Research Awards

Dr. Maksim Mamomkin, assistant professor at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy:
Improving CAR T-Cell Therapy of T-ALL by Cotargeting Additional Antigens - $250,000

Dr. Jeremy Schraw, instructor of pediatrics – hematology and oncology:
Exploring the Biological Basis of Ethnic and Social Disparities in Pediatric Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia Outcomes - $249,999

Dissemination of CPRIT-Funded Cancer Control Interventions Awards

Dr. David Poplack, professor of pediatrics – hematology and oncology and associate director of the Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers: Application of mHealth Technologies to Improve Latino Childhood Cancer Survivor Engagement and Use of Evidence for Personalized Follow-Up Care and Screening - $299,982

Expansion of Cancer Prevention Services to Rural and Medically Underserved Populations Awards

Dr. Jane R. Montealegre, assistant professor of pediatrics – hematology and oncology and deputy director of the Office of Outreach and Health Disparities at the Duncan Cancer Center:
Strengthening Safety Net Health Systems to Improve Cervical and Colorectal Cancer Screening and Follow-up among the Medically Underserved - $2,497,029
Tobacco Control and Lung Cancer Screening

Dr. Roger Zoorob, Richard M. Kleberg, Sr. Professor and chair of family and community medicine: Expansion of the Lung Cancer Screening and Tobacco Control (LCTC) Network to Rural and Medically Underserved Populations - $1,999,664

Recruitment of First-time Tenure-track Faculty Members — $6 million (Recruitment of faculty is underway.)

“CPRIT funding is integral to supporting the innovative cancer research happening at Baylor,” Heslop said. “The core facility awards support the work of numerous investigators, and the recruitment awards help us expand cancer research in new directions.”

To date, CPRIT has awarded more than $2.9 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development programs. Read more about the most recent round of CPRIT funding here.