The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences would like to recognize four faculty members who recently received funding for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

Those individuals are:

Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, MD, PhD. He received the Early Clinical Investigator Award of $1.5 million for his research in neurosurgery. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson and is affiliated with the GSBS Program in Immunology.

Jian Hu, PhD. He received a High-Impact/High-Risk Research Award of $250,000 for his research project, “Restoration of phagocytosis function of glioma-associated microglia/macrophage by activating QKI-PPARb-RXRa.” Hu is an associate professor in the Department of Cancer Biology at MD Anderson and is affiliated with the GSBS Programs in Cancer Biology and Neuroscience.

Anirban Maitra, MBBS. He received a High-Impact/High-Risk Research Award of Identification of $250,000 for his research project, “Identification of enhancers of T-cell anti-tumor activity in PDAC using CRISPR activation screening.” Maitra is a professor in the Department of Translational Molecular Pathology and is affiliated with the GSBS Program in Cancer Biology.

She received a High-Impact/High-Risk Research Award of $249,999 for her research project, “Fasting-induced microbiome changes and radioprotection.” Piwnica-Worms is a professor in the Department of Experimental Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson and is affiliated with the GSBS Program in Cancer Biology.

Since its inception, CPRIT has awarded over $3 billion in grants for cancer research; programs supported by CPRIT funding have brought more than 281 distinguished cancer researchers to Texas, advanced the knowledge base for cancer treatment throughout the state, and provided 8.2 million cancer prevention and early detection services to Texans.

Click here to see all grants funded by CPRIT.