2 New Cancer Researchers Join UT Faculty, Thanks to CPRIT Grants
Two cancer researchers will soon be joining the faculty in the College of Natural Sciences and the College of Pharmacy.
Two rising stars in cancer research will soon be joining the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin with help from recruitment grants from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Juliana Hofstatter Azambuja will join the College of Pharmacy as an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Olga Eremina will join the Department of Chemistry as an assistant professor, both in January 2027.
The pair of awards helps highlight a commitment to expanding cancer research prowess in Texas, according to Kristen Doyle, CEO of CPRIT.
Each faculty member will focus on different types of cancer with her work.
Hofstatter Azambuja is working to develop more effective, less toxic treatments for aggressive brain tumors. Her research explores how cancer interacts with the immune system and surrounding brain, uncovering new opportunities to fight cancer. Her CPRIT-supported research will investigate how diffuse midline glioma reprograms myeloid cells to sustain tumor growth and therapeutic resistance. Hofstatter Azambuja completed postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh and Mayo Clinic.
Eremina develops imaging tools that use tiny gold particles and laser light to map cancer cells and the immune cells surrounding them. Her CPRIT-supported research will focus on detecting the spread of head and neck cancers to lymph nodes and examining the local immune response. By revealing many molecular features at once, her work aims to provide a more complete picture of cancer and inform future approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Eremina is an NIH K99/R00 postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California.
The two recruitment grants were awarded in August as part of a package of more than $35 million to various institutions and companies across Texas.
“The legislative vision that created CPRIT, combined with dedication to our mission, has made Texas a national leader in the fight against cancer,” Doyle said. “Because of awards like those announced today, the world sees Texas as a place where the work of cancer researchers is championed, innovative ideas can flourish, and groundbreaking discoveries drive progress every day.”
Created by the Texas Legislature and approved by a statewide vote in 2007, CPRIT leads the state’s unprecedented effort to prevent, detect early, treat and cure cancer. In 2019, Texans again voted overwhelmingly to support CPRIT with an additional $3 billion, for a total $6 billion investment in innovative cancer research and prevention.
