Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announces $5M TETF investment in UTHSC-H trauma research

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst announced on May 6 a $5 million investment through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston to launch a new trauma research center led by U.S. Army Surgeon Col. John Holcomb, M.D. The Center for Translational Injury Research (CeTIR) will open in September.

Injury is the leading cause of death between the ages of 1 and 44. Every year, injury accounts for 16,000 deaths in Texas, 160,000 deaths across the nation and 5 million deaths worldwide, the National Trauma Institute reports. “We need better treatments for the injured—particularly those with burns, bleeding and brain trauma,” Dewhurst said. “This new research center will build on cutting-edge research already underway at the UT Health Science Center at Houston and throughout the Texas Medical Center.”

The $5 million TETF Research Superiority Award is part of a $200 million initiative created by the Texas Legislature at the request of Gov. Rick Perry to expedite new technology development and to recruit researchers. The Office of Technology Management at the UT Health Science at Houston will receive an additional $250,000 to support the award. In addition to the TETF's investment, the UT Health Science Center, the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and the University of Texas System Medical Foundation have pledged a total of nearly $13 million to establish the CeTIR and attract a world-class team of experts in medical research and trauma care.

“The UT Health Science Center is grateful to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House and the Legislature for this generous investment in trauma research, which will lead to life-saving treatments,” said James T. Willerson, M.D., president of the UT Health Science Center at Houston and president-elect of the Texas Heart Institute.

Holcomb’s laboratory will focus on new medical technologies based on the integration of biology and informatics to improve the diagnosis, care and survival of trauma victims. “Any progress made in civilian trauma care has direct implications for the military and vice versa,” Holcomb said.