Research That Improves Lives: $3.8 Million in NIH Funding Supports Cancer Treatment Studies
Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso’s School of Pharmacy are leading efforts to reduce mortality rates in lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancer with $3.8 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The grants are examples of the rapid growth in federally funded research activity in the School of Pharmacy, where faculty brought in more than $10 million in new research funding in 2022.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences awarded Taslim Al-Hilal, Ph.D., $1.5 million to test the use of blood thinning agents to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer, which typically does not respond to immunotherapy.
Al-Hilal also received two grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including a $1.8 million R01 grant, one of the most competitive research grants awarded by NIH, to study how a protein commonly found in male reproductive glands can be targeted to treat lung cancer. He received an additional $400,000 from the NCI to continue his research into the prion-like Doppel protein as a new predictive biomarker for ovarian cancer.
“Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S.,” Al-Hilal said. “Our goal is to develop novel therapies that will help us to target specific cancers in order to lower their mortality rates.”
Marc B. Cox, Ph.D., chair of UTEP’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and professor of biological sciences, praised Al-Hilal for his work that could benefit patients in the Paso del Norte region.
“This level of success in the early stages of a scientific career speaks volumes toward the quality and impact of the cancer research program developed by Dr. Al-Hilal within the School of Pharmacy at UTEP,” Cox said. “I fully anticipate that his research into a variety of cancers affecting our regional populations will have far-reaching long-term impacts on patient quality of life in the region and beyond.”
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. This highly aggressive cancer is very difficult to treat. According to Al-Hilal, nearly one-third of pancreatic cancer patients develop blood clots within the tumors that make immunotherapy ineffective. His pre-clinical research suggests that using anticoagulants that help to thin the blood, along with immunotherapy, may improve the efficacy of pancreatic cancer treatment.
In a separate study, researchers in Al-Hilal’s lab, including postdoctoral fellows, pharmacy students and graduate students from UTEP’s environmental science and engineering program, have taken a different approach to target lung tumors. The team has observed that the Doppel protein is responsible for the formation of new blood vessels in lung tumors and helps the tumors to survive against attacks from the body’s immune system. They have developed an inhibitor that will block Doppel, thereby disrupting a tumor’s growth.
NCI funding also has made it possible for Al-Hilal to advance his study to use Doppel as a diagnostic biomarker of ovarian cancer in women, with a focus on the Hispanic population. Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, and the most common form of ovarian cancer arises from the outer lining of the ovary. These epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) are difficult to detect in their early stages because symptoms can be vague and there is no effective screening test. Al-Hilal’s research suggests that Doppel is only found in the serum of women with EOC, but not women with other gynecological symptoms. Therefore, he hopes to develop a simple blood test using Doppel to detect early stage EOC.
“If someone has ovarian cancer, it will progress to advanced stages in two to three months,” Al-Hilal said. “If we can detect the disease early, then the chances of being cured are going to be a significantly better.”
Last Updated on March 06, 2023 at 12:00 AM | Originally published March 06, 2023
By By Laura L. Acosta UTEP Marketing and Communications
