Mary Bird Perkins gets $2.2 million to research radiation therapy

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Care Center has been awarded a $2.2 million research contract to study how radiation therapy can better target cancer cells. The award from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity branch will go toward research conducted through Mary Bird’s partnership with LSU. Kenneth Hogstrom, the principal investigator, says the group is studying how to treat cancer on a cell-by-cell basis in order to target tumors while leaving healthy tissue alone. The hope is to hit cancer cells with more radiation, do minimal damage to normal cells, and thus increase cures. Mary Bird says the money will go toward building a medical beamline at LSU’s Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices.