SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 — The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has awarded UTSA professor Hyoung-gon Lee $250,000. The two-year grant will fund Lee’s research, which seeks to understand the pathogenic mechanism of peripheral neuropathy and to develop a novel therapeutic approach.
“Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a devastating consequence of cancer treatment regimens that include neurotoxic chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin,” said Lee, who is an associate professor in the Department of Biology, housed in UTSA’s College of Sciences. Lee is also a member of UTSA’s Brain Health Consortium.
“CIPN is one of the most common, serious side effects that can lead to dose reductions or early discontinuation of chemotherapy, reducing the efficacy of cancer treatments and significantly impacts the quality of life of the patients due to debilitating neurological symptoms such as pain, tingling sensation, numbness and weakness.”
Despite the high prevalence and severity of CIPN, there is currently not an effective treatment to prevent or reverse CIPN. This is mainly due to the scientific community’s limited understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of CIPN. The development of therapeutics is required to improve quality of life in cancer patients and survivors as well as enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapy.
“Based on the previous studies, we developed a hypothesis that the induction of cell cycle activity in dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons, the main cell type affected by chemotherapeutic agents, is a key mechanism causing neurotoxicity in cisplatin-induced CIPN and thus targeting this mechanism may provide an effective therapeutic opportunity,” Lee said.
As a part of its continued commitment to cancer research in Texas, CPRIT awarded 62 new grants totaling over $114 million and consisting of 52 academic research grant awards, eight prevention awards, and two product development research awards.
The awards support cancer research and prevention activities taking place in universities and community organizations across Texas. To date, CPRIT has awarded $2.6 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs.
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Día en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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