ATLANTA — A Georgia State University brain researcher just received a huge grant.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The grant is intended to improve treatment outcomes for patients with various types of cancer.
Tricia King was awarded a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health.
King says she and her colleagues will also study the impact of patients’ genetics on their outcomes.
“We’re looking at what are the most robust environmental resources, the strongest clinical risk factors, and the most important genetic DNA and RNA sequencing that relate to cognitive impairments,” King said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Woman poses as funeral home employee, takes over $80K from grieving families, Jonesboro police say
- 86-year-old woman with dementia kidnapped from Clayton convenience store, police say
- Gwinnett County man kills ex-wife’s divorce attorney, sets office on fire, police say
King studies medulloblastoma, a form of cancer in which a fast-growing tumor forms at the base of the brain. It requires radiation, chemotherapy and surgery.
King said in some ways, they’ve been building up to this project for 20 years.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“If we can identify the genetics that put individuals at risk for cognitive problems, we might be able to reduce the chemo and radiation therapy that specific individuals receive so that targeted treatments cure the cancer, yet do not create cognitive difficulties,” King said.
The project will also build a model for personalized treatment plans based on a patient’s environmental, clinical and genetic risk factors.
IN OTHER NEWS:
This browser does not support the video element.