Greehey CCRI Faculty Awarded $1.2M CPRIT Grant to Support Osteosarcoma Research
An award of $1.2 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) went to Greehey CCRI Deputy Director and principal investigator Manjeet Rao, PhD, professor of cell systems and anatomy, for studies of an enzyme protein that helps osteosarcoma cells to survive and spread. The team, which includes co-principal investigator Yogesh Gupta, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry and structural biology and member of the Greehey Institute, has identified a small molecule that can inhibit this activity. The goal of the CPRIT grant is to make this molecule more potent.
Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer in children. Over the last 30 years, no new drugs have been approved to treat it. This cancer typically develops before age 18 and can recur later in life. The survival rate for recurrent cancers that have metastasized or spread is under 20%.
Rao and Gupta’s grant is part of the $12.2M in CPRIT grants awarded to UT Health San Antonio during the current award cycle.
Since 2004, UT Health San Antonio, Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute’s (Greehey CCRI) mission has been to advance scientific knowledge relevant to childhood cancer, contribute to understanding its causes, and accelerate the translation of knowledge into novel therapies. Greehey CCRI strives to have a national and global impact on childhood cancer by discovering, developing, and disseminating new scientific knowledge. Our mission consists of three key areas — research, clinical, and education.
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