Newswise — The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded its first round of shared instrumentation awards on March 24 and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) was one of the recipients.
The grant of almost $600,000 was awarded to Eva Sevick, Ph.D., professor and Cullen Chair in Molecular Medicine at the UTHealth Medical School, for a cancer research tool that can be used by researchers in the Texas Medical Center and elsewhere in the state.
Cancer research involves unraveling the molecular mechanisms of how cancer cells arise, survive and interact in order to discover new therapeutics and diagnostics, Sevick said. One research tool to identify specific cancer cell types within a larger population of non-cancerous cells is fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).
It works by individually passing millions of single cells across a laser beam and collecting the fluorescence that identifies the individual cell type for sorting. A cell type, such as a cancer stem cell, can have a number of different fluorescent features, requiring as many as 18 different colors of fluorescence in order to differentiate it for accurate sorting. The multi-color FACS is a necessary tool for making and confirming cancer research discoveries, Sevick said.
This grant provides researchers access to a new instrument equipped with six fiber-optic-linked solid-state lasers, including a highly specialized 785nm near-infrared laser, capable of detecting a total of 17 fluorescent signals. The laser is the only one in the Texas Medical Center, and one of only four in the United States, according to UTHealth Flow Cytometry Program Manager Amy Hazen, Ph.D.
The instrument formally known as a BD FACSAria™ II is housed in the UTHealth Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases at the Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building, 1825 Pressler. Information on fees and service hours is available by calling Hazen at 713-500-3612.
Cancer is the leading cause of death for Texans under 85 and more than 100,000 Texans were diagnosed with cancer in 2010, CPRIT reports. Cancer cost Texas $25.3 billion in direct medical costs and morbidity and mortality losses in 2010.
To date, UTHealth has received more than $20 million in funding from CPRIT. Texas leads the nation in its commitment to curing cancer. In 2007, Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and dedicating up to $3 billion to invest in groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and services in Texas. CPRIT focuses on expediting the innovation and commercialization of cancer research – in turn increasing the potential for a medical or scientific breakthrough – and enhancing access to evidence-based prevention programs and services. Visit www.cprit.state.tx.us.
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