Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Academic Research topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oversight committee approves five academic recruitment awards totaling $12 million, adds survivorship as a research priority
Summary
The oversight committee approved five recruitment awards recommended by the Scientific Review Council and the Program Integration Committee, authorized contracting, and approved a new proposed academic research priority focused on cancer survivorship and caregiver research.
The CPRIT oversight committee approved five academic research recruitment awards for FY25 cycle 25.1 and delegated contract negotiation authority to the CEO and staff during its Nov. 15 meeting.
Dr. LeBeau (academic research program) reported that the Scientific Review Council reviewed 20 scholar nominations and recommended five awards totaling approximately $12 million. The slate included one Rising Star award (Dr. Daniel Addison to UT Southwestern) and four recruitment awards for first-time tenure-track faculty: Dr. Fangyu Liu (UT Southwestern, structural/structure-guided drug discovery), Dr. Zhangdong Li (UTHealth Houston, mechanisms of KRAS inhibitor resistance), Dr. Norihiro Gotoh (MD Anderson, intestinal stem cell biology and immune evasion in colon cancer), and Dr. Zhu Feng Chen (MD Anderson, AML immunology and immune evasion). Program staff highlighted each nominee’s research focus and the potential translational and therapeutic relevance of the recruitments.
The committee approved the PICC recommendations for all five recruitment awards by voice vote and also delegated negotiation and execution of contracts to the CEO and CPRIT staff.
In addition to awards, the academic research program proposed FY2026 RFAs that largely mirror prior cycles and recommended adding a new program priority: cancer survivorship research. Dr. LeBeau explained the rationale: there are millions of cancer survivors in the U.S. who face long-term physical, psychosocial and economic effects from diagnosis and treatment, and survivorship research could reduce late effects, improve quality of life, and address caregiver impacts. Members discussed integrating survivorship into existing RFAs and the possibility of a targeted RFA to draw focused attention to survivorship research. Staff said they will consider both approaches.
Why it matters
The recruitment awards are intended to strengthen Texas research capacity in computational/structural biology, drug resistance mechanisms, stem cell biology and immunology—areas identified by staff as priorities for both the state’s research enterprise and patient impact. The new survivorship priority signals agency interest in research that goes beyond tumor biology to address long-term outcomes for survivors and caregivers.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve five academic recruitment awards and delegate contracting authority: approved by voice vote (motion carried). - Motion to approve six FY2026 academic RFAs (cycle 1): approved by voice vote (motion carried).
Attributions: Dr. LeBeau (Academic Research Program), Dr. Cummings (Chair)
Ending note
Staff will proceed with contract negotiations and will incorporate survivorship considerations into upcoming RFAs; a targeted survivorship RFA is under consideration.
