Zhao awarded $2 million CPRIT grant to continue cancer research
Zhongming Zhao, PhD, MS, professor of bioinformatics and systems medicine, Chair for Precision Health, and director of the Center for Precision Health at McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston, was awarded $2 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to continue advancing the state of Texas’ fight against cancer.
The funds awarded to Zhao are intended to aid him in continuing the work of the UTHealth Houston Cancer Genomics Center, which was established in 2019 with some initial CPRIT funding.
“The CPRIT grant to the Cancer Genomics Core has been instrumental in accelerating cancer research at UTHealth Houston by providing state-of-the-art genomic technologies and high-quality sequencing services,” Zhao said. “This funding has enabled groundbreaking discoveries and fostered collaboration across multiple institutions, driving forward clinical, basic, and translational cancer research in Texas.”
The award was part of more than $60.6 million in grants, in a wide array of academic research projects, that included innovative core facilities and developmental research focusing on promising new insights into the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer.
“These grants show the impact CPRIT is having across the board in cancer research,” said Kristen Doyle, CEO of CPRIT. “By supporting the vital core facilities that researchers need, funding groundbreaking research, and deepening the bench of clinical trial investigators, CPRIT is fulfilling the promise central to our mission: we are helping Texans conquer cancer.”
The Cancer Genomics Center has provided high-quality services to over 164 investigators across 18 academic institutes for their sequencing and genomics projects. In this renewal proposal, Zhao will substantially expand the sequencing facilities by providing state-of-the-art sequencing platforms including long-read sequencing, single cell omics, and spatial transcriptomics; enhance customized project design and advanced bioinformatics services; expand cancer genomics services to thousands of clinical samples through partnership with clinical departments and UTHealth Houston-affiliated hospitals; and offer cancer genomics services to other Texas institutes.
Zhao is also a faculty member of MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and serves as the vice president for the Office of Cancer Genomic Medicine at the university.
-David Fanucchi