UMMC awarded $2.4 million grant to move cancer research forward in Mississippi

• The grant funding is a significant step towards UMMC reaching its long-term goal of receiving a coveted National Cancer Institute designation.

Recently approved federal funding will assist in renovating and modernizing the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s cancer research program.

UMMC is receiving $2.4 million in federal funding through the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The grant funding is a significant step towards UMMC reaching its long-term goal of receiving a coveted National Cancer Institute designation.

Mississippi, along with neighboring states of Louisiana and Arkansas, are without a cancer center with the NCI designation, forcing many of Mississippi’s cancer patients to travel long distances to receive advanced care for cancer.

Funding for this project was backed by U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) and 3rd District Congressman Michael Guest (R), both of whom serve on their chamber’s respective appropriations committee.

“The University of Mississippi Medical Center has been a national leader in medicine since it hosted the first heart transplant in 1964. Now, UMMC is taking a critical step in attaining its federal designation as a National Cancer Institute,” Guest said in an official note. “I am proud to serve UMMC through my work in Congress and will continue to support the institution’s legacy of excellence and its efforts to supercharge cancer research, deliver better health outcomes, and ultimately find a cure.”

The funding will be used to renovate and purchase equipment for the 14,000 square feet of space in UMMC’s research wing. This area of UMMC has not seen upgrades in nearly three decades.

“Upgrading this space at UMMC is just one more step toward creating a facility that will draw more cancer researchers to our state,” stated Hyde-Smith in an official note. “The world-class work done there, along with the planned UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute, is part of our goal to get that critical NCI designation, and I’m pleased to help reach these worthy goals.”

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, on average, 16,000 new cancer cases are reported in the Magnolia State annually, with 6,500 ending in death.