CPRIT Awards over $11 million for immunotherapy research

Four Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Center faculty secured >$11M in CPRIT research awards.The four funded projects are led by Drs. Meenakshi Hedge, Bilal Omer, Leonid Metelitsa and Cliona Rooney.

Dr. Susan Blaney, Director of the Center, said, “These innovative projects will empower our world-leading experts to pioneer cutting-edge treatments. By harnessing the immune system to fight cancer, our teams are paving the way for transformational therapies in Texas and beyond. We are incredibly proud of their groundbreaking work.”

The CPRIT funded projects are listed below:

• Dr. Meenakshi Hegde
  “Advancing Immunotherapy for High-Risk Cancers in Children and Adolescents.”
• ● Dr. Bilal Omer
  “Signal-Augmented Cancer Cell Therapies: Integrating Advanced Correlatory Studies and Mentorship.”
• ● Dr. Leonid Metelitsa
  “Cellular Immunotherapies for Pediatric Solid Tumors.”
  Project leaders: Drs. Andras Heczey, Robin Parihar, Bilal Omer, Tao Wang and Natasha Lapteva.
• ● Dr. Cliona M. Rooney
  “Overcoming Major Barriers to the Delivery of Successful T-Cell Immunotherapies.”
  Project leaders: Drs. Malcolm Brenner, Valentina Hoyos, Masataka Suzuki, Helen Heslop and Natasha Lapteva.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) leads the state’s fight against cancer, backed by a $6 billion investment from Texas voters. Since its inception in 2007, CPRIT has awarded over $3 billion in grants for cancer research, prevention and product development; recruited 323 researchers; and supported 9.9 million prevention services across all Texas counties.