The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation's leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer.

The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. The CTRC joins with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in sponsoring the annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the world's largest gathering of breast cancer researchers.

The Texas Research Park in rural western Bexar County is one of five sites around the nation chosen by the Department of Homeland Security in July 2007 as finalists for this unique federal center, which will research diseases that could cross from animals into humans or be used as biological weapons.  The final site selection is expected to be made in the fall of 2008 following environmental impact studies of each proposed site. CONTINUE READING.