Maria E. Falzone, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology 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), has received a $150,000 UT Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention (STARs) award from the University of Texas System (UT System) to help advance research into the molecular mechanisms underlying signaling-dependent regulation of lipid-editing enzymes and their dysregulation in cancer.
Falzone, who joined UT Health San Antonio in the fall of 2024 as part of a $52 million-recruitment effort from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas announced earlier that year, is cross-appointed as a full member of the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute and UT Health San Antonio’s Mays Cancer Center, one of only four National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers in Texas and the only one in Central and South Texas.
“One of my main research goals is to contribute to an increased understanding of cellular signaling and its dysregulation in cancer. I hope our work can make a small contribution to something that will eventually help people in our community, whether it is through therapeutic development or an increased understanding of the underlying cellular processes,” Falzone said. “Another is always to keep pushing the boundaries of what is experimentally possible. If we are going to understand new biological questions, we must keep developing new and creative approaches to push our research forward.”
In 1994, The UT System Board of Regents approved the allocation of funds for multiple types of STARs awards to help attract and retain the best-qualified research-active faculty to perform their research at one of the 14 UT System academic and health institutions across Texas.