Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Geographic Diversity topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CPRIT’s Geographic Diversity Advisory Committee reports TRAC progress; tracks support research capacity outside major metro centers
Summary
GEDAC told the oversight committee that TRAC awards have funded infrastructure, biobanks and junior-faculty recruitment at institutions in West and South Texas, but noted that sustained investment is needed to reach critical mass.
The oversight committee received an update from the Geographic Diversity Advisory Committee (GEDAC) on TRAC (Texas Regional Excellence in Cancer) awards and related efforts to build research capacity in regions far from NCI-designated cancer centers.
Dr. Kang (GEDAC presenter) reviewed TRAC program activity since its 2021 start: three cycles of TRAC funding totaling roughly $34 million across 14 awards. The awards include large institutional TRAC grants (approximately $6 million over five years in early cycles) focused on building infrastructure and recruiting junior faculty, plus a later cycle that added pilot awards, instrument awards and postdoctoral training awards to address specific capacity gaps.
GEDAC highlighted accomplishments at several TRAC awardees:
- UTEP: established a Center for Hispanic Cancer Disparities, developed data and tissue collection capacity, and recruited junior faculty supported by TRAC awards. UTEP also received postdoctoral training awards and external NIH grants. - Texas Tech Health Sciences Center (Lubbock): used TRAC resources to build cores (flow cytometry, biobanking, pharmacology, animal models, bioinformatics), support junior faculty who later obtained NIH R-level awards, and expand clinical-trial support for pediatric and adult oncology needs in West Texas. - TTUHSC El Paso and UTRGV: recent TRAC recipients developing biobanks, cores and junior faculty support tailored to local Hispanic populations and underserved communities.
GEDAC emphasized the geographic gap in access to NCI-designated center resources across West Texas and South Texas, noting long travel distances to major centers and the importance of building local capacity to reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment. The committee said TRAC investments are showing early returns—publication counts, pilot-project outputs, equipment purchases, biorepository growth and junior faculty hires—but stressed that reaching “critical mass” for sustainable independent research centers will require ongoing investment and time.
GEDAC said it will continue to refine TRAC mechanisms (pilot awards, core support, postdoctoral training) and advise staff on mechanisms that are appropriate to the differing needs of health-science centers versus undergraduate-focused campuses.
Why it matters
TRAC awards explicitly aim to expand research and clinical trial capacity in regions that are distant from major cancer centers; GEDAC cited early increases in NIH-funded projects, trainee pipelines and institutional infrastructure. Committee members said these investments help include underserved, often Hispanic, populations in research and care pathways.
Next steps
Staff will continue to run TRAC competitions and consider appropriate RFA sizes and mechanisms to match institutional needs (pilot awards, instrument/core awards, and training awards). GEDAC will continue periodic assessments and convene virtual symposia to foster collaboration among TRAC institutions.
Attributions: Dr. Kang (GEDAC presenter), Dr. LeBeau (program liaison)
Ending note
GEDAC called for continued targeted investment to move TRAC-funded institutions toward sustainable research capacity and noted early evidence of success in publications, grants and local workforce development.
