Houston cancer-fighting organization launches center to support early clinical trials

new to hou

The new center is specifically designed to allow patients to be on the cutting edge of testing brand-new therapies that could save their lives.

Cancer treatment in Houston just became even more promising — and forward-thinking.

Phase 1 clinical trials are necessary to prove the efficacy in humans of treatments that have appeared promising in lab trials. In the name of cancer-fighting innovation, Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center has launched the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation Center for Experimental Therapeutics.

The new center is specifically designed to allow patients to be on the cutting edge of testing brand-new therapies that could save their lives.

“Clinical trials are critical for advancing the field of oncology and improving outcomes for cancer patients. Phase 1 trials are the first step in bringing innovative therapies to the clinic,” says Dr. Benjamin Musher, Barry S. Smith endowed professor at Baylor and medical director of medical oncology at the Duncan Cancer Center McNair Campus, in a news release. “Our new program will build on the success of previous phase 1 trials at Baylor and provide robust infrastructure to offer more clinical trial opportunities to our patients.”

The Alkek Foundation Center’s team practices across all specialty areas, allowing a broad swath of the Cancer Center’s patients to take part and to continue to receive care from the sub-specialty doctors they know and trust. And even if they aren’t already being treated at Baylor, physicians from outside Baylor can refer patients to the program through a smooth process.

“We are excited to offer novel research treatment options to our cancer patients at our state-of-the-art unit,” says Dr. Pavan Reddy, director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior associate dean of cancer programs at Baylor. “This program will increase the scope of our research while giving the cancer patients in our community access to first in human and cutting-edge clinical trials.”

Patients will be treated at Duncan Cancer Center’s clinical home, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center’s O’Quinn Medical Tower at the McNair Campus. As interim dean of research and dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Baylor, Carolyn Smith says, with the new center, Baylor is “advancing medicine by taking innovations made in the lab and moving them to the bedside.”

The debut trial to take place at the center enrolled its first patient this month. It will test a novel therapy that targets a mutation commonly found in pancreatic and colorectal cancers.

“Phase 1 oncology clinical trials provide patients early access to cutting-edge therapeutics and immunotherapies that are not widely available. Patients in these trials are often selected because their tumors have a molecular feature that is targeted by these therapies,” says Dr. S. Gail Eckhardt, who is Baylor’s Albert and Margaret Alkek endowed chair and serves as associate dean for experimental therapeutics at Baylor and associate director of translational research at the Duncan Cancer Center.

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5 must-know fall application deadlines for Houston innovators

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Editor's note: As fall reaches full swing, Houston's innovation scene is calling on the latest batch of founders and startups looking to make a difference. A number of accelerators have opened applications. Read below to see which might be a good fit for you or your venture. And take careful note of the deadlines. Please note: this article may be updated to include additional information and programs.

Did we miss an accelerator or competition accepting applications? Email innoeditor@innovationmap.com for editorial consideration.

Texas Life Science Forum

Deadline: Oct. 2

Details: Ventures can apply to present at the 15th annual Texas Life Science Forum, hosted by BioHouston and Rice Alliance. Participants will meet during office hours with venture capitalists, tech scouts, corporate venture groups and angel investors, and present their pitches in a public forum. Pitches take place on Nov. 10 and office hours are held Nov. 11. Find more information here.

Greentown Lab's Go Make 2027: Advanced Carbon Materials with ExxonMobil

Deadline: Oct. 9

Details: Greentown Labs is seeking applications from startups developing novel carbon-based technologies for its latest Go Make cohort in conjunction with ExxonMobil. The structured accelerator is designed to facilitate validation activities and explore potential long-term collaborations with Exxon, according to Greentown. Founders will have the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders to test, validate and scale their carbon technologies in real commercial contexts. The program tentatively starts on Jan. 20, 2027 and concludes June 16, 2027. Find more information here.

Activate's U.S. Fellowship Cohort 2027

Deadline: Oct. 30

Details: Activate supports scientists at "the outset of their entrepreneurial journey." It partners with U.S.-based funders and research institutions to support its fellows in developing high-impact technology. Its fellows receive a living stipend, research and development funding, connections from Activate's robust network of mentors and access to a curriculum specific to the program for two years. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and 4-plus years of post-baccalaureate scientific research, engineering or technology development experience. Their work must be based in the physical or biological sciences or related engineering disciplines. Find more information here.

Rice Innovation Fellows

Deadline: Oct. 30

Details: The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie)'s Rice Innovation Fellows program supports Rice Ph.D. students and postdocs in turning their research into real-world ventures. Participants receive $10,000 in translational research funding, co-working space and personalized mentorship. Candidates from all Rice engineering and science-related disciplines are encouraged to apply. Find more information here.

The TMC's Accelerator for Cancer Therapeutics

Deadline: Oct. 30

Details: Texas-based ventures and researchers developing a cancer therapeutics project can apply to this accelerator funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The nine-month program runs February-September 2027 and focuses on market research, FDA regulations, intellectual property, licensing, finance, fundraising, legal and other critical areas for cancer-related ventures. Participants will complete the program with at least one grant submission and have the option to pitch to investors, corporate partners, media and other influential guests. Find more information here.

Houston college joins inaugural workforce accelerator supported by Google

hands-on training

Houston City College (HCC) is one of 15 community colleges from around the country to be selected for the first-ever Workforce Futures Accelerator.

The three-year effort is supported by Google.org, the tech company’s philanthropic arm, and led by the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), a non-profit educational organization that represents over 500 community, junior, and technical colleges. The accelerator focuses on helping colleges embed virtual, employer-sponsored training opportunities into short-term workforce training programs, giving participants access to opportunities that they might otherwise receive through internships or other "work-based learning" stints.

"The Workforce Futures Accelerator reflects the Houston City College mission of offering a high-quality, affordable education for workforce training and career development," Pretta VanDible Stallworth, HCC trustee and chair-elect of the ACCT board of directors, said in a news release. "Advancing student success and creating pathways to opportunities ensures that our students are well equipped to succeed and build a secure future in today's economy.”

Through the accelerator, HCC is tasked with fusing online project-based learning opportunities with its workforce education programs. The idea is to give students hands-on experiences working on projects sponsored by employers, allowing them to gain real-world knowledge in the process.

HCC will select two workforce programs that meet the accelerator’s criteria and insert into them into coursework. In the second and third year of the accelerator, the selected colleges are expected to scale the programs by adding instructors and programs to develop a network of to support their continued implementation.

“Participation by HCC will strengthen how we provide students with career-connected learning experiences that complement their classroom education and align with the needs of employers,” HCC Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher added in the news release. “We are focused on ‘future forward’ strategies to meet the present and future needs of our region’s businesses.”

Two other Texas colleges were chosen to participate in the accelerator: Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont and Grayson College in Denison.

The remaining cohort includes:

  • Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey
  • Central Louisiana Community College in Alexandria, Louisiana
  • Clark State College in Springfield, Ohio
  • Great Basin College in Elko, Nevada
  • Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois
  • Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, New Jersey
  • Manchester Community College in Manchester, New Hampshire
  • Mesa Community College in Mesa, Arizona
  • Mohave College in Kingman, Arizona
  • San Joaquin Delta Community College in Stockton, California
  • San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico
  • West Virginia University Parkersburg in Parkersburg, West Virginia

New report ranks Texas among top 10 states where AI could disrupt jobs

AI Workforce

A new nationwide report examining where AI could "reshape" the most jobs has ranked Texas No. 9 among the most at-risk states for AI job disruption.

The new SmartAsset report compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia to calculate the estimated percent of the workforce employed in the 26 occupations with the highest AI exposure, as determined by June 2026 research by the Virginia Economic Information and Analytics Division.

The findings revealed that 500,000 Texas workers, or 3.55 percent of the total workforce, are employed in occupations with "high exposure to potential AI disruption."

This also places the Lone Star State as the 9th most at-risk state in the U.S. where AI exposure can lead to "declining hiring demand, wage pressure, task automation, and other forms of disruption."

"States with larger concentrations of highly exposed occupations could experience more pronounced labor-market changes, particularly in roles where core tasks are more vulnerable to AI-driven restructuring," the report's author wrote.

Texas' biggest cities, like Houston and Austin, are known for their thriving tech and business industries, and the study noted that many of the occupations within those sectors are the most at risk. The Virginia Economic Information and Analytics Division said the top five most AI-exposed occupations in the U.S. are: mathematicians, proofreaders, correspondence clerks, court reporters, and media and communication workers. Additionally, computer programmers, database administrators, web developers, telephone operators, and communications equipment operators round out the top 10 most at-risk positions.

These are the 16 remaining occupations most exposed to AI disruption, in order:

  • Data Entry Keyers
  • Statistical Assistants
  • Office Support Workers
  • Interpreters and Translators
  • Database Architects
  • Software Quality Assurance Analysts
  • Medical Transcriptionists
  • Software Developers
  • Writers and Authors
  • Payroll Clerks
  • Web Designers
  • Miscellaneous Computer Occupations
  • Insurance Claims Processors
  • Telemarketers
  • Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers
  • Bookkeeping and Accounting Clerks

A separate SmartAsset report from April 2026 found about 20.5 percent of Texas workers use AI to do their jobs in some capacity. That trend will continue to shift further as employers and employees choose to adopt — or reject — AI implementation.

Across the U.S., Washington topped the list as the state with the highest concentration of AI-exposed jobs, with nearly 5.7 percent of the state's workforce employed in the 26 most at-risk positions. SmartAsset said Washington's high prevalence of technology companies is a significant factor that skyrocketed the state to the top of the list.

"Home to major technology companies including Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile and Expedia, the state has large numbers of computer programmers and software developers, two occupations with high exposure," the report said.

Meanwhile, Mississippi ranked No. 51 with the lowest concentration of AI-exposed jobs in the nation. About 22,500 workers in Mississippi, or 1.93 percent of its workforce, are at risk for AI disruption.

The top 10 states where AI could reshape the most jobs are:

  • No. 1 – Washington
  • No. 2 – Virginia
  • No. 3 – District of Columbia
  • No. 4 – California
  • No. 5 – Utah
  • No. 6 – Maryland
  • No. 7 – Colorado
  • No. 8 – New Hampshire
  • No. 9 – Texas
  • No. 10 – North Carolina
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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