UT health professor awarded cancer research grant

Dr. Curtis Wray was awarded cancer research grant from the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Curtis Wray has been selected as the recipient of a cancer research grant.

Wray, an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School, was awarded the grant by the American Cancer Society.

The West U resident is trying to find ways to improve the care and quality of life for people with liver cancer, the sixth most common type of cancer in the world.

With the five-year, $729,000 grant, Wray will study disparities in the life expectancy of patients with advanced liver cancer, an average of about seven months. According to studies, that expectancy is considerably less in the underserved population.

In order to pinpoint the factors contributing to the disparity, Wray will follow liver cancer patients in the Harris County Hospital District.

“We know the outcomes for people with liver cancer have been suboptimal in an underserved population,” Wray said in a press release. “We want to know why and what can be done to improve the quality of life for these patients.”

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School is at 6431 Fannin St.

For more information, visit uthouston.edu.