Professor receives grant for breast cancer research

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler received a $447,195 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support breast cancer research. According to our news partner KETK and a UTT news release, Dr. May Abdelaziz, an assistant pharmacy professor at the Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, is conducting research into HER2, a protein that promotes the growth of breast cancer. UTT reportedly received a grant from the NIH to support Abdelaziz’s research.

“The receipt of this NIH grant underscores the impactful research being conducted at the Fisch College of Pharmacy,” Dr. Amy Schwartz, Fisch College of Pharmacy dean, said. “Dr. Abdelaziz’s innovative work in developing targeted therapy for breast cancer highlights our college’s contribution to cutting-edge solutions in health care and pharmaceutical sciences.”

According to UTT, Abdelaziz is conducting research to create a targeted therapy for breast cancer so that they can effectively battle the growth of the cancer without undergoing treatments that affect the whole body, like chemotherapy.

“The support from the NIH will greatly facilitate our efforts to develop a novel targeted therapy for breast cancer,” Abdelaziz said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in cancer research and potentially improve outcomes for patients.”

Abdelaziz earned her Bachelor of pharmacy at Cairo University in Egypt, and her PhD of pharmaceutical sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University.