CPRIT's new advisory board names TTUHSC's Sonya Castro-Quirino as founding member

CPRIT put together an 11-member panel to guide the state's responsible use of AI in biomedical research and in how grant proposals get reviewed. Castro-Quirino represents TTUHSC on that board, putting Lubbock's health sciences campus in the room for decisions that affect cancer research funding across Texas.

The appointment matters because CPRIT controls serious money for cancer research statewide. How that money gets awarded shapes what kind of work gets funded and where. Having a TTUHSC researcher on the panel that sets AI guidelines for grant proposals gives Lubbock a direct line into rules that will affect research happening right here, not just in Austin or Houston.

For people in Lubbock, this is less about a ribbon cutting and more about influence. TTUHSC has spent years building out its research footprint, and a seat on a statewide advisory board is the kind of thing that doesn't make headlines but could steer grants toward West Texas labs down the road.