UTRGV awarded $18.4M grant to establish the Rio Grande Valley Center for Cancer Health Disparity

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – During a UTRGV news conference, National Institutes of Health awarded the university a grant that aims to help aid cancer research in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Professor and Director of the South Texas Center of Excellence for Cancer Research Subhash Chauhan discussed three main projects the new center will cover: research on cervical cancer, liver cancer and socio-behavioral intervention strategies. 

Dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine and Senior Vice President for UT Health RGV Dr. Michael B. Hocker said the new center will be one of 24 centers in the United States and one of four in the state. 

Dr. Hocker later spoke about the practical functions of the new center. 

“This is really a significant milestone for us,” he said. “It allows us to not just do research but to expand our research portfolio from earlier prevention to cures, from bench research to translational and clinic research, where we’ll actually start to change the lives of folks here in the Rio Grande Valley.”  

Texas’ 34th Congressional District Representative Vicente Gonzalez spoke on his support for the grant and why it was important to him.  

“It’s an incredible project to do research, cancer research, here in the Rio Grande Valley and specifically, in Latino communities like [ours] that have never been researched before and try to figure out why we have a higher rate of liver cancer or stomach cancer or cervical cancer than the rest of the state and the rest of the country,” Gonzalez said. “These are amazing investments that will be transformative not only for the medical school but for our region here in the Valley. 

According to Dr. Hocker, the new cancer research center will open in 2025.