The University of Texas at Tyler received an $890,472 Rural Oncology Trials Accelerator Award from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The money will expand cancer research in Henderson County and pay for staff, equipment and infrastructure at the Athens clinic of UT Health East Texas HOPE Cancer Center.
Dr. Erminia Massarelli, division chief of Hematology/Oncology at the UT Tyler School of Medicine, leads the project. UT Tyler School of Medicine Dean Dr. Sue Cox said patients who once had to travel to Tyler for clinical trials will no longer need to do so.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 66% of Henderson County's population lives in a rural area. The article says many residents have had to drive 40 miles or more to reach clinical research. Massarelli said the funding aims to ease that travel burden and hopes the model can guide rural trials across East Texas.