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Oversight Committee approves 47 academic research awards and FY2026 RFAs; Rosenfeld abstains on one award
Summary
The CPRIT Oversight Committee approved 47 academic research and recruitment awards totaling roughly $69.7 million, delegated contract-signing authority to the CEO, and approved the programintegration committeeFY2026 request-for-applications slate. One award (RP250601) was approved with Dr. Rosenfeld not voting.
The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Oversight Committee approved 47 academic research and recruitment awards recommended by the Program Integration Committee (PIC), totaling $69,700,000, and approved the institute's FY2026 academic research request-for-applications slate.
Chief Scientific Officer Michelle LeBeau introduced the award slate, saying the packages "include 47 awards from 8 grant mechanisms" and that the awards "address 8 of our program priorities." She described core facility, high-impact/high-risk, early clinical investigator and several Track (TREC) awards included in the recommendations.
The committee took a separate roll call vote on RP250601. The motion to approve that single recommendation passed; the chair recorded that Dr. Rosenfeld did not vote on RP250601. The committee then voted to approve the remaining 46 recommendations as a slate. Members also delegated contract negotiation authority to the CEO and CPRIT staff and authorized the CEO to sign grant contracts on behalf of CPRIT.
The oversight committee subsequently voted to approve the FY2026 academic research RFAs as presented by LeBeau, which include signature recruitment programs (established investigator, rising star, first-time tenure-track), core facility renewals, high-impact/high-risk awards, new childhood/adolescent & young adult cancer survivorship RFAs, expanded research training awards, and two new RFAs intended to build clinical trial capacity and workforce in rural and underserved communities.
Committee members pressed for geographic diversity and discussed the representation of track-eligible institutions and tenure-track recruitments. Dr. Rosenfeld asked about concentration of tenure-track nominees in Houston; LeBeau said geographic clustering reflected the pool of nominees this cycle. Members also discussed early-onset cancer as a potential program priority; LeBeau noted CPRIT already has investigator-initiated funding mechanisms for early-onset cancers and agreed it merits continued attention.
Compliance staff certified that the review processes complied with CPRIT's administrative rules and statute prior to the votes, and committee members confirmed no unresolved conflicts of interest other than the recorded abstention on RP250601.
The oversight committee's approvals included delegation of authority needed to negotiate and execute contracts for the approved awards and to move forward with the portfolio recommended by the PIC.
Looking forward, the committee approved new RFAs aimed at expanding clinical trial access and workforce development in rural and underserved Texas communities and confirmed plans for outreach (webinars, site visits) to encourage applications from community practices and track-eligible institutions.
