UNM Forms Cancer Team (Albuquerque Journal)
The University of New Mexico Cancer Center on Monday agreed to form a research collaborative with Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to combat inflammatory breast cancer and other aggressive forms of breast cancer. UNM and Anderson expect to finalize a memorandum of understanding in a matter of weeks that will establish a research agenda, intellectual property rights, research sharing protocols and a governance structure for the collaborative, said Cancer Center Director Cheryl Willman.

 

Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, in the last legislative session sponsored a $3.2 million appropriation to fund New Mexico's participation in the collaborative for three years. Jennings's wife, Patty, has been treated for breast cancer at both facilities, Willman said. The Texas legislature appropriated $4 million to support Anderson's activities. Willman said the collaborative hopes to improve diagnostic imaging techniques, develop radioisotope therapies to treat breast cancer and use UNM gene research to improve diagnostics and treatment.

UNM, cancer center form team (Santa Fe New Mexican)
The University of New Mexico and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston are forming an alliance for breast cancer research. New Mexico officials signed an agreement Monday for the partnership in researching possible cures and causes of inflammatory breast cancer, an aggressive but rare form of cancer. The Legislature earlier this year approved $3.2 million for the research project, and New Mexico officials said Texas has agreed to provide $6 million over three years.

 

"We can do a lot together," Sen. Timothy Jennings, a Democrat from Roswell who helped secure the funding, said at the signing ceremony in the Capitol. His wife, Patty, is a breast cancer survivor. Other states, including Washington and Arizona, are considering joining the research partnership.