For immediate release: Aug. 16, 2007
GALVESTON, Texas - For his ground-breaking research into how cancer tumors might seek out certain parts of a body, Dr. Vicente Resto, of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has been selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to receive an Early Career Award.

The new award from HHMI to Resto is for $375,000 over a five-year period.

"This is an incredible honor," Resto said.  "Howard Hughes is a name that is synonymous with excellence."

Resto said that his research was sparked when he considered how the human body generates an immune response targeting a precise area.

"That seemed to me a reasonable paradigm to think about tumor spread," Resto said. "If we already have mechanisms in our bodies that have evolved to achieve such exquisite targeting, then could cancer not have borrowed or harnessed such a mechanism to then target certain organ types?"

Dr. Garland D. Anderson, dean of the UTMB School of Medicine, congratulated Resto.

"I am very proud of Dr. Resto's accomplishments as a surgeon-researcher, and extremely pleased that HHMI has recognized his abilities with the prestigious Early Career Award."

Resto was one of 20 doctor-scientists who were honored by HHMI. The institute said that a panel of physician-scientists reviewed the applications and evaluated each applicant's ability and promise for a research career as a physician-scientist. Among the criteria were the quality and quantity of formal research training, the commitment of the applicant's institution and the quality of the research environment.

Resto said he considered the award a confirmation of his research. "To have, what arguably may be one of the most high-profile organizations turn around and tap it as, in fact, science that they want to fund is incredibly validating."

Resto is studying how and why tumors spread from their original sites to lymph nodes. He has noted that these type of tumors are often more aggressive and least responsive to therapy. He is specifically investigating how head and neck tumors metastasize to lymph nodes.

In a news release posted on the HHMI Web site, Peter J. Bruns, vice president for grants and special programs at HHMI, said that "physician-scientists are uniquely positioned to translate research discoveries into direct benefits for patients. The research these talented young scientists are doing has the potential to have a tremendous impact on public health."

HHMI is a nonprofit medical research organization that ranks as one of the nation's largest philanthropies that promotes biomedical research and science education in the United States. The institute commits almost $700 million a year for research and distributes $80 million in grant support for science education. Since 1988 HHMI has awarded approximately $1.5 billion in grants.
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Public Affairs Office
301 University Boulevard, Suite 3.102
Galveston, Texas 77555-0144
www.utmb.edu