Industry Spotlight HEALTH CARE
Simmons Cancer Center integrates
research, clinical care and cancer control
outreach across UT Southwestern University
Hospitals and clinics, Parkland Health and
Hospital System and Children’s Medical
Center Dallas. Its cancer center members
are currently involved in thousands of
cancer-related studies and clinical trials.
“Our cancer program is indeed a big
asset for the region,” Wilson said. “It brings
together UT Southwestern, Parkland and
Children’s, and is the largest cancer center
in the region. Over 5,000 new patients are
cared for each year.”
For each $1 million worth of research
Simmons Cancer Center receives from
external sources, 41.6 jobs are generated;
and in 2008, during the peak of the
recession, that total was nearly 17,000.
Every $1 million of research also generates
about $3 million of business activity within
the state, and in 2008 that equaled to
nearly $1.2 billion.
“UT Southwestern has provided the
opportunity to recruit outstanding cancer
researchers to Dallas, and of course with
them, come collaterals of not only research
money, but also new members of their
faculty. It has a multiplying effect,” Wilson
said. “Bringing into our community are
researchers contributing not only to the
economic impact, but economic growth
that is placing us in a position to build
innovative technologies and further our
industry.” And that translates into innovative
patient care with an amazing impact on the
health of our community, he added.
A Commitment to Research and Growth
Like many metropolitan areas, Dallas-Fort
Worth is lacking in the number of practicing
pharmacists. And to further the issue, it’s a
metropolitan region that is also the largest
market in the country without an academic
pharmacy program.
With an aging population growing, the
demand for more pharmacists continues to
rise. This is especially true within the North
Texas region, whose overall population has
increased by more than 23 percent over the
past 10 years.
To address this need, The University
of North Texas Health Science Center
(UNTHSC) in Fort Worth began working
on a plan to open the area’s first College of
Pharmacy in an effort to position itself as
a continued leader in medical training and
research. After a decade in the making,
the College of Pharmacy four-year degree
program will be offered beginning in August
2013, with 80 students enrolled.
The new College will be the 11th
program offered by UNTHSC, which
includes the Texas College of Osteopathic
Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical
Sciences, the School of Public Health and the
School of Health Professions, as well as one
of the top DNA forensics and investigative
genetics lab, The Center for Human
Identification. With support by the National
Institute of Justice, it has become the
recognized national center to provide
scientific and technical support for law
enforcement, medical examiners and crime
labs throughout the country.
“We are very proud of our DNA and
human identification lab,” said Dr. Scott
Ransom, UNTHSC president. “We have
The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s
Medical Education and Training building in Fort Worth.
www.ntc-dfw.org
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