Zhijie “Jason” Liu, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine in the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) and CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas) Scholar in Cancer Research, received a grant from the American Cancer Society in the amount of $960,000 to enhance his research into the mechanisms of endocrine resistance in breast cancer and the role of estrogen receptor-bound enhancers.
Liu, who joined the health science center in 2016 with a $2 million CPRIT Scholar (recruitment) award that brought him from the University of California at San Diego’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is a research member of the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of only four National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Centers in Texas.
A noted cancer investigator, Liu was recognized by the Mays Cancer Center with having the 2019 Discovery of the Year for his research on endocrine resistance and breast cancer.
“This research grant aims to tackle several critical challenges related to breast cancer growth and progression, with the ultimate goal of developing innovative targeted therapies that can revolutionize treatment regimens and eliminate the mortality associated with this disease,” Liu said. “Most importantly, the scientific discoveries from this project have the potential to be extended into many other research fields and provide valuable information about treatment paradigms for other cancers through enhancer interventions.”