The University of Texas at Tyler has received an $890,472 award to expand cancer clinical research at its Athens clinic, bringing study access closer to patients in rural Henderson County. The funding will pay for staff, equipment and infrastructure so patients do not have to make the trip to Tyler to participate.
The university announced the Rural Oncology Trials Accelerator Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas in a November 6 statement. The work is led by Dr. Erminia Massarelli, who heads hematology and oncology at the UT Tyler School of Medicine and serves as the specialty’s medical director at the UT Health East Texas HOPE Cancer Center.
Research access moves closer to home
For a family already managing cancer care, joining a study can mean more appointments, travel and time away from home. The university said many Henderson County residents have had to drive 40 miles or more to reach clinical research.
About 66% of the county’s population lives in a rural area, according to Census Bureau figures cited by the university. The award directs resources to the Athens clinic instead of requiring those patients to travel to the system’s Tyler research site.
UT Tyler School of Medicine Dean Dr. Sue Cox said the expansion extends academic medicine into the communities it serves. Massarelli said the funding addresses the travel and time demands that families face during cancer treatment.
The award funds people and equipment
The money supports the practical requirements for running studies locally: staff, equipment and the clinic infrastructure needed for research.
Massarelli specializes in lung and head-and-neck cancers. Her research includes work on resistance to platinum-based therapies and ways to strengthen immune responses.
The university says the Athens expansion is also intended to provide a model for bringing cancer trials to other rural communities across East Texas.
Less travel is the immediate goal
The change is a closer place to take part in cancer research.
For patients and families, that can mean less time on the road when considering study participation. The award puts the staff and equipment behind that goal at a local clinic.
JBizNews Desk | Athens, Texas
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