New CPRIT Scholar Grants Recruit Talent to Texas Institutions

AUSTIN — Today, four new CPRIT Scholar grants totaling $16 million were awarded. The grants will support the recruitment of investigators researching cancers of the brain and digestive system as well as experts in the field of immunotherapy.

“CPRIT Scholars are key to the momentum Texas has achieved in building a cancer-fighting ecosystem,” said Wayne Roberts, CPRIT CEO. “Attracting top talent to our state ensures that Texas institutions are at the cutting-edge of cancer research.”

Rep. Zerwas Files HB 39 and HJR 12 to Continue CPRIT

House Appropriations Committee Chairman John Zerwas has filed House Bill 39 (HB 39) and House Joint Resolution 12 (HJR 12), which will continue the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). HB 39 will provide CPRIT with the ability to continue beyond the original time frame set by the original enacting legislation, and HJR 12 proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the maximum bond amount authorized for CPRIT.

CPRIT Scholar Morrison Elected to the National Academy of Medicine

(AUSTIN) – CPRIT Scholar Sean Morrison, Ph.D. of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Election to the Academy, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

CPRIT Grantee Eberlin earns “Genius” Award for Innovative Cancer-detecting Device

(AUSTIN) – Livia Schiavinato Eberlin Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has won a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, sometimes called a “Genius” award with a no-strings attached prize of $625,000. The fellowship results from her invention of the “MassSpec Pen,” a handheld device that identifies cancerous tissue within 10 seconds during surgical procedures. The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas provides the funding to determine if her innovation has practical application. Earlier this year, her work on the device earned an Innovation Award from South by Southwest Interactive, and she consulted on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” that featured the “MassSpec Pen.”

CPRIT Scholar James Allison, PhD Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Oct. 1, 2018 – James P. Allison, a native of Alice, Texas, son of a country doctor, eminent scholar of the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and pioneer of cancer immunotherapy, has been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine jointly with Tasuku Honjo. For Dr. Allison, the Nobel Prize recognizes his breakthrough work in studying a protein known as CTLA-4, proving that it behaves like a brake on immune responses. In November 2011, Dr. Allison was recruited back to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to study CTLA-4 with the help of a $10 million CPRIT grant.