Nobel Laureate Joins Cancer Institute

Nobel Prize winner Alfred Gilman, MD, PHD, dean of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, has accepted the position of chief scientific officer for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

Dr. Gilman shared the 1994 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with the late biochemist Martin Rodbell. They were cited for their work on"their discovery of G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells."

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas was created with voter approval in 2007 of a $3 billion constitutional amendment. Over the next 10 years, cancer research institutions can apply for a portion of $300 million annually in grants and loans. Additionally, up to 10 percent of funding, or $30 million a year, will pay for cancer prevention and control programs. TMA and the Texas Public Health Coalition, along with advocacy groups and lawmakers, championed passage of the amendment.

The institute's main goals are:

  • To create and expedite innovation in cancer research and enhance the potential for medical or scientific breakthroughs in preventing and curing cancer;
  • To attract, create, or expand public or private research capabilities to increase cancer research and create high-quality new jobs; and
  • To implement the Texas Cancer Plan, a statewide guide for cancer prevention and control created by the Texas Cancer Council.


Action, May 4, 2009

Last Published: 4/28/2009

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