BRYAN, Texas — After starting the initiative almost two years ago, the Texas A&M Health Science Center was recently awarded a five-year, $6 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to create a Texas Regional Excellence in Cancer Center.
"The receipt of this award, I think it's a validation of the strength and quality of the programs that we have at Texas A&M," Center Director Kenneth Ramos said. "In the space with cancer and of course, you know, the outstanding opportunity that this infrastructure created by the center is going to provide."
The Center of Excellence in Cancer is set to focus on cancer prevention, translation research for cancer care, and the training of the next generation of researchers.
"A big reason for our inability to cure cancer at this point and time is the fact that we don't understand all of the fundamentals that are required to actually build the right therapies and the right interventions," Ramos said. "So that's exactly what we're going to be geared towards doing."
According to Dr. Ramos, the virtual center will help the university to take advantage of its existing resources and allow them to expand its infrastructure.
"You can begin to better leverage the existing resources within the university and build upon these resources to begin to expand our capability of addressing cancer prevention and care for Texans across the state," Ramos said.
CPRIT currently has research hubs in major cities in the Lone Star State, including Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston. However, they will soon add McAllen, El Paso, and Bryan to that list of locations to better provide care for those who need it.