Last October, Congresswoman Johnson wrote a letter urging the White House to take into consideration UT-Southwestern’s existing particle therapy research infrastructure and expertise in leading cancer treatment research in the U.S. when selecting the planning grant award recipients. The planned center would serve as a research adjunct to an independently created and funded, sustainable clinical facility for particle beam radiation therapy. Currently, the planning grant includes pilot projects that will enable a research agenda in particle beam delivery systems, dosimetry, radiation biology, and/or translational pre-clinical studies.
“The newly awarded advanced planning grant for UT Southwestern Medical Center is exactly the type of medical and technological advancement the DFW metroplex needs and the type of federal investment we need to continue to lead the world in state-of-the-art medical research,” said Congresswoman Johnson. “Not only is this grant a major advancement for STEM, it is a crucial step in the right direction for cancer research and those affected by cancer here in the United States.”
First developed in the 1980s at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, heavy ion therapy is the most precise and potent form of irradiation for cancer patients, more effective than conventional proton or electron-based forms of treatment which are used to treat the majority of cancer patients in the U.S. Already, the use of heavy ion therapy has expanded worldwide with eight operational centers in China, Germany, Italy, and Japan with additional facilities under construction in Austria, South Korea and France.
The National Center for Heavy Ion Radiation Therapy, targeted for completion in 2021, will require a combination of federal, state, and private funding for construction and ongoing research.
Potential economic impact estimates for Texas are more than $600 million, with 130 new high-level jobs created and 2,000 annual out-of-town visitors.
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education.
The institution’s faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering approximately 2,800, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to about 92,000 hospitalized patients and oversee approximately 2.1 million outpatient visits a year.
