$3M going to new school, fatty liver research
U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro announced three federal grants Monday totaling nearly $3 million for UT Health San Antonio.
One grant, for $1 million, will support research leading to treatment of fatty liver disease, or hepatic steatosis, at the Center for Innovative Drug Discovery — a collaboration of UT Health and the University of Texas at San Antonio.
The funding will pay for new instruments and specialized equipment.
Another grant for $963,000 will provide similar support for development of new chemical synthetic techniques to treat the disease and prevent liver failure.
Experts at UT Health have discovered three liver enzyme targets that, if inhibited, could reverse the disease and have demonstrated it in mice without harming other tissues.
Fatty liver disease is a frequent complication of diabetes that disproportionately affects Latinos. Researchers estimate about 28% of Hispanic Americans have the disease, with the highest rates among Mexican Americans.
If left untreated, it can result in liver failure and the need for an organ transplant. It’s also the main driver of liver cancer, which is disproportionately common in San Antonio and South Texas.
Another grant, for $1 million, will help renovate a building for shared use by UT Health and the University of Texas at San Antonio as the home of the UT School of Public Health San Antonio.
The school will welcome its first class this fall.
The grants are funded with federal appropriations from the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, through an annual congressional funding process to support locally driven projects with community support.
Since the process began in 2021, Castro has shepherded funding of nearly $40 million for projects in San Antonio.