Methodist is honored for $22.2 million in CPRIT awards

HOUSTON (September 30, 2011) - The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and several other Houston-area organizations were honored today by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) as recipients of millions of dollars in funding over the last year and a half.

TMHRI President and CEO Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., accepted a ceremonial check for $22.2 million, the total in grants provided by CPRIT since June 2010.

Other area institutions receiving CPRIT funding since June 2010 were the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center ($68 million), Baylor College of Medicine ($42.3 million), Rice University ($14 million), the University of Texas Health Sciences Center ($14.6 million) and the University of Houston ($5.6 million).

The ceremony took place at Rice University's BioScience Research Collaborative. CPRIT Executive Director Bill Gimson, Rice University President David Leebron, and others joined Ferrari in delivering remarks.

Methodist has received about $23.4 million in funding since January 2010. That money is being used to fund scientific research and cancer education programs, and to lure reknown cancer researchers like Nancy Jenkins, Neal Copeland and Lidong Qin to the Texas Medical Center.

CPRIT was created in 2007 by the Texas state legislature for the purpose of creating and expediting innovation in the area of cancer research; attracting, creating, or expanding research capabilities; and continuing to develop and implement the Texas Cancer Plan. More information about CPRIT can be found on the Web at http://www.cprit.state.tx.us/. 

To speak with a representative of TMHRI, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org.  For more information on The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, visit our website. Follow Methodist on Facebook and Twitter.