New funding supports cutting-edge research to combat cancers across South Texas

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) and its academic health center, UT Health San Antonio, recently received over $2.7 million in new academic and prevention awards from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to further its mission of combating cancers across South Texas.

Since 2010, CPRIT has awarded the newly integrated UT San Antonio almost $186 million.

These latest awards and vote of confidence from our state demonstrate the power of our integrated, multidisciplinary research and health enterprise that elevates the national visibility of the extraordinary work happening across our institution."

Lei Zheng, MD, PhD, executive director of Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in Central and South Texas, vice president for oncology and professor of medicine at UT San Antonio

In its latest funding round, the state agency dedicated to supporting evidence-based cancer research and prevention efforts will help develop the next generation of cancer researchers and enhance the state's life sciences infrastructure as well as focus on pressing cancers like Ewing sarcoma, AI in clinical oncology and the link between obesity and endometrial cancer risk.

Empowering innovation: Transforming the Flow Cytometry Shared Resource with cutting-edge technology

Principal investigator: Michael T. Berton, PhD
Professor and deputy chair in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
Award amount: $1,999,969

The Flow Cytometry Shared Resource core facility at the institution and Mays Cancer Center has been serving the broad cancer research community in San Antonio and South Texas for decades. A previous CPRIT grant in August 2021 enabled the laboratory to significantly increase its capacity to support high-dimensional single-cell analysis and purification by acquiring three state-of-the-art spectral flow cytometers and opening a new satellite lab.

It also supported the hiring of a new staff member as well as Yue Li, PhD, as the facility's co-director, who serves as the co-investigator of this renewal.

"This renewed CPRIT grant will allow us to better support imaging flow cytometry, providing users with the unprecedented means to analyze or sort single cells not only based on fluorescence, but also based on physical and spatial characteristics facilitated by real-time imaging," Berton said. "This cutting-edge technology can help cancer investigators answer questions that are impossible to solve with conventional flow cytometers.

"We are committed to providing cancer investigators with the most advanced technologies to facilitate their goals in new discoveries to advance cancer prevention and treatment options and, ultimately, in improving patient care," he said.

A novel approach to targeting Ewing sarcoma

Principal investigator: David Libich, PhD
Associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology in the Long School of Medicine and investigator with the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute
Award amount $250,000

Ewing sarcoma is a rare and aggressive cancer that primarily affects children and teenagers. While current treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery can save lives, they can also cause serious long-term health problems. Sadly, many young patients with advanced or recurring disease do not survive.

A major reason progress has been slow is that the main protein that drives this cancer, EWS::FLI1, does not have a stable shape, making it extremely difficult to target with traditional drugs.

"We will study how EWS::FLI1 interacts with other proteins inside the cell, using powerful imaging methods that can look at proteins at the level of individual atoms, then use advanced computer models, including artificial intelligence, to design small, engineered proteins that latch onto EWS::FLI1 in a highly specific way," Libich said. "These synthetic proteins will act like precision tools that can recognize and bind the cancer-causing protein, opening the door to future therapies that could block its activity or help the cell remove it.

"If successful," he said, "this work will provide the first clear structural map of how EWS::FLI1 works and create the first generation of molecules designed specifically to target it. This work has the potential to lay the foundation for safer, more targeted treatments that improve survival and long-term quality of life for children with cancer."

Revolutionizing cancer care: AI-powered radiation therapy aims to improve healthcare equity

Principal investigator: Arkajyoti Roy, PhD
Associate professor in the Department of Operations and Analytics, Carlos Alvarez College of Business
Award amount: $250,000

More than 2 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year and may need radiation therapy to treat their disease, which works by delivering high doses of radiation to the tumor while protecting nearby healthy organs.

To do this safely, doctors must outline the tumor and organs on a patient's computed tomography (CT) scan. This step can be slow and requires skilled medical expertise, which can be challenging for rural and underserved communities already struggling with limited staffing.

"This project aims to make artificial intelligence (AI)-guided radiation therapy safer and more reliable, especially for patients treated in clinics with limited resources," Roy said. "We will develop new AI models that learn from diverse medical data and can estimate their confidence in their predictions. We will then design radiation-planning methods that use this information to create treatment plans that remain safe even when the AI-generated outlines are imperfect.

"If successful, this work will improve the quality and consistency of radiation treatment, help underserved communities benefit from advanced techniques like adaptive radiotherapy and reduce disparities in cancer care across Texas and beyond," he said.

Nanoparticles target obesity-linked endometrial cancer with precision therapy

Principal investigator: Maria Gonzalez Porras, PhD
Assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Award amount: $246,196

Endometrial cancer, affecting the uterine lining, is rising fastest among women under age 50. Obesity is a significant risk factor. Current invasive treatments can cause infertility and have lasting side effects, emphasizing the need for safer, targeted therapies.

Research shows that fat tissue cells migrate to the uterus, where they release a protein that promotes tumor growth and spread. Both fat-derived and cancer cells also produce a surface protein that increases tumor aggressiveness. These factors together create an environment that accelerates tumor growth in women with obesity.

"We have developed a new treatment for endometrial cancer using nanoparticles – tiny carriers of genetic instructions that deactivate harmful proteins in fat and cancer cells," Gonzalez Porras said. "These nanoparticles specifically target tumor-driving cells in the uterus, minimizing exposure to the rest of the body.

"This novel approach addresses the aggressive nature of endometrial cancer in women with obesity by disrupting the harmful interplay between fat tissue and tumors," she said. "If successful, it could offer a safer, fertility-preserving alternative to current therapies, reduce recovery time and lower long-term health risks. This strategy may also pave the way for more precise, personalized treatments for other obesity-related cancers."

Lasting impact for South Texas and beyond

"Innovative science thrives at the intersection of curiosity, collaboration and compassion and is the hallmark of impactful research institutions around the world," said Patrick Sung, DPhil, director of the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute and associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology. "Research breakthroughs require more than expertise – they demand vision, relentless curiosity and a spirit of collaboration that unites scientists, clinicians and families.

"At the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, home to one of two institutes in the U.S. dedicated solely to pediatric cancer research, we strive not only to understand the complexities of childhood cancers, but we are also determined to transform hope into cures for every child and family we are privileged to serve," he said.