$1.9 million CPRIT funds support cancer research

Rong Li, Ph.D., is studying the interaction of proteins in the breast tissue that appear to nourish the development of breast tumors.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded $1.9 million to Health Science Center researchers. An $890,659 grant designed to expand the known benefits of exercise to more cancer survivors will kick off a research-based program of Stacey Young-McCaughan, R.N., Ph.D., at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center. Rong Li, Ph.D., a professor of molecular medicine at the CTRC, was awarded $741,446 for his work in understanding how the dense tissue in breast tumors contributes to estrogen production and tumor growth. A grant of $297,173 was presented to Deborah Parra-Medina, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the Institute for Health Promotion Research, for a peer-education and outreach program encouraging use of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer among Latina mothers and daughters living in Texas-Mexico border communities.