Strategic collaboration funds interdisciplinary projects to improve cancer care

Rice University's Synthesis X Center and Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center have awarded $90,000 in seed grants as part of a new strategic collaboration. The grants have been awarded to two research teams, each comprised of scientists from both Rice and Houston Methodist. 

We're excited to be collaborating with the Neal Cancer Center to support collaborative, novel and interdisciplinary proposals to improve cancer care and outcomes. Together, we can achieve translational excellence." 

Han Xiao, Rice professor of chemistry and director of the Synthesis X Center

The grants were funded by the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and Rice's Educational and Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health, working in partnership with the Synthesis X center. 

Funded proposals 

Rational design of metal nanoclusters for protection from radiation-induced skin injury

Angel A Marti, a professor of chemistry at Rice, and Biana Godin, an associate professor of nanoscience at Houston Methodist Research Institute, will be testing various metal nanoclusters for protective effects from radiation. Radiation therapy, a common cancer treatment, often irritates or injures skin at the site of treatment. With this grant, Marti and Godin's team will study the effectiveness of metal nanoclusters for preventing radiation-induced skin injuries by applying them to skin cells and measuring damage postradiation. Their goal will be to develop a potential cream or gel that could be applied to a patient's skin prior to radiation treatment to reduce or eliminate injury and irritation. 

Novel approaches to investigate m6A RNA to study sensitivity and resistance to chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia and predict therapeutic response

Yuan Ma, an assistant professor of chemistry at Rice, and Shu-Hsia Chen, a professor of immunology at Houston Methodist Research Institute, are studying a chemical marker known as m6A which helps control leukemia cell growth, survival and resistance to treatment. They are interested in finding out if the amount of m6A present in cancer cells predicts how the cells will respond to cancer treatments. With this grant, they will develop an imaging method to measure the amount of m6A in leukemia cells. They will also try blocking m6A in leukemia cells to see if that will help certain treatments, like CAR-T cells, become more effective.

"This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to team science in cancer research," said Daniela Matei, the director of the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center. "These are the types of translational and pioneering projects that lead to transformation in patient care."