Statewide Collaboration

UTHealth Houston and Texas Tech Health El Paso announce research partnership for greater impact on underserved communities

The Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) at UTHealth Houston and Texas Tech Health El Paso have formalized their partnership thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health. While researchers and medical professionals from each institution have collaborated in the past, bringing Texas Tech Health El Paso officially into the CCTS fold means more resources will be available to support ongoing and future programs. With funding extended to 2031, and a reach that now expands from East Texas to the Borderplex region, the CCTS solidifies its position as a leader in clinical and translational research, with potential for even greater impact on border populations and underserved communities across the state.

“The populations of El Paso and the Borderplex region have unique healthcare challenges,” stated Deborah Clegg, Ph.D., vice president for research at Texas Tech Health El Paso. “This partnership will allow us to bring more clinical research trials to our community, provide more effective care to those who need it, and enhance educational opportunities for our medical, graduate, dental, and nursing students. In a word, it will be transformative.”

The partnership was made possible by a grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), an agency of the NIH.

“Collaboration is an integral component of progress and innovation,” says Charles Miller, Ph.D., associate vice president of clinical research and health care quality at UTHealth Houston, and former associate dean of research at Texas Tech Health El Paso. “The type of grant that supports the CCTS is only available to institutions with large NIH funding portfolios. This partnership allows us to combine capabilities across our universities to bring a level of team-based research to El Paso that would not be possible otherwise. This mission is personal for me as a former El Pasoan, and I am thrilled to see it taking shape.”

Woody Hunt, senior chairman for Hunt Companies and longtime champion of Texas Tech Health El Paso, said the new partnership is the type of impactful innovation that he and other El Paso community leaders have envisioned for El Paso for decades, going as far back as when the campus was a Regional Academic Health Center for Texas Tech University’s School of Medicine.

"This collaboration embodies a vision we have pursued for decades: to make the Borderplex region a hub of innovation, opportunity, and equitable access to resources that empower every individual to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life," Hunt said. "Seeing this vision come to fruition through institutions like Texas Tech Health El Paso is both inspiring and a testament to the power of strategic investment in our community."

With the addition of Texas Tech Health El Paso, the CCTS augments its list of outstanding partner organizations, which includes The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University, UT Tyler, UT Rio Grande Valley, Memorial Hermann Health System and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital.

Corresponding principal investigator of the CCTS, David McPherson, M.D., is chair and professor of the Department of Internal Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. He also holds the Francine J. and Frederick M. Pevow, MD, Chair of Internal Medicine and the James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair. “Studying complex health issues, reaching underserved communities, and implementing the latest treatment and solutions are what we strive toward every day,” he said. McPherson, who was appointed vice president for clinical and translational sciences at UTHealth Houston earlier this year, further explained that with the addition of El Paso, the center’s catchment area now covers approximately 16 million people, adding, “We’re on a mission to transform health, and Texas Tech Health El Paso is a key component not only geographically, but in terms of the talent and contributions they bring to the table.”

About UTHealth Houston

Established in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) is Texas’ resource for health care education, innovation, scientific discovery and excellence in patient care. The most comprehensive academic health center in the UT System and the U.S. Gulf Coast region, UTHealth Houston is home to Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing, John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School, D. Bradley McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics, and schools of biomedical sciences, dentistry, public health, and behavioral health sciences. UTHealth Houston includes the John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center and UTHealth Houston Harris County Psychiatric Center, as well as the growing clinical practices UT Physicians, UT Dentists, and UT Health Services. The university’s primary teaching hospitals are Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. For more information, visit www.uth.edu.