National Institute of Health Awards $18.4M Grant towards UTRGV Cancer Research and Resources
UTRGV President Guy Bailey speaks at a press conference held on friday to acknowledge a NIH grant of $18.4 million to continue cancer research to serve underprivileged Rio Grande Valley communities. Mikaela Lagunes /Pulse
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley receives the NIH Research Centers in Minority Institutions award that will fund the establishment of the Rio Grande Valley Center for Cancer Health Disparity.
Dr. Subhash Chauhan, principal investigator for the award and a professor of medicine and Oncology at UTRGV, had worked on the proposal for the grant within only 28 days. Chauhan’s proposal focused on the health disparities prominent in the Rio Grande Valley.
According to Chauhan, “Some of the cancers here are the highest in the nation and the highest in the world.”
Specifically, liver and cervical cancer were mentioned as the leading types of cancer affecting the RGV community. Chauhan elaborated that the RGV has been without an easily accessible biomedical research facility that addresses such cancer risk factors.
Moreover, the Hispanic population has a notable disparity regarding representation in clinical research for these forms of cancer.
With the funding from the award, the new Rio Grande Valley Center for Cancer Health Disparity will open in 2025 and be a valuable resource for the community. It will be one of only 24 in the nation, and one of four in Texas.
Dr. John Sagan, Senior Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate College stated that the NIH RCMI grant will allow their program to not only focus on research, but on impacting the community directly.
This will be done by biomedical, clinical and social sciences such as increasing the RGV’s knowledge on preventive cancer measures.
“I think everyone in the valley has a family member or somebody they know that’s been touched by this form of disease,” said Vicente Gonzalez Texas’ 34th Congressional District Representative.
The grant is a new milestone for healthcare and research in the Rio Grande Valley and will bring aid to the underrepresented and under researched Hispanic community.
