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UTHSCSA

Plans for the biobank include a repository specifically for brain dren’s Cancer Research Institute, with its special focus on addressing
specimens, providing essential resources for neuroscience re- the unique challenges of childhood cancer.
searchers and faculty as they seek to understand how the brain func- It is only through relentless efforts to achieve enhanced under-
tions. It also will create additional avenues for collaborative research standing of the biology of the world’s most complex diseases that
on a national level in Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative diseases. we will eventually find ways to prevent them or eradicate them. This
The biobank will have a profound impact on research being con- biobank will help us do just that.
ducted at our nationally recognized Sam and Ann Barshop Institute This is an exciting time in biomedical research, when a confluence
for Longevity and Aging Studies, as well. The institute is the only of events is multiplying possibilities for new breakthroughs in med-
aging research center in the country to achieve the distinction of icine. The Barker Foundation’s support is critical in advancing a
having both a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence and a Claude D. strategic initiative that will allow us to significantly contribute to sci-
Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, through two Na- entific knowledge that will impact researchers worldwide.
tional Institute on Aging grants.
Maintaining these prestigious designations at the Barshop Institute The University of Texas Health Science Center at San
is a top priority for our university, and the biobank will play a vital Antonio, now called UT Health San Antonio, is one of
role as it facilitates translational studies and extends observations the country’s leading health sciences universities. With mis-
made in animal models to elucidate relevant determinants of human sions of teaching, research, healing and community engage-
diseases that require the availability of human tissue samples. ment, its schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health
In the area of cancer research, the biorepository will have an em- professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced
phasis on tumor specimens from cancers that disproportionately 36,500 alumni who are leading change, advancing their
occur in Hispanics in South Texas. This will not only impact re- fields and renewing hope for patients and their families throughout South Texas
search at our National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center, and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better,” visit
but will also support investigators at the university’s Greehey Chil- www.uthscsa.edu.

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