University of Washington getting $21M as part of cancer "moonshot"

The University of Washington is getting up to $21.1 million as part of President Biden's cancer " moonshot " initiative, which aims to "end cancer as we know it."

Why it matters: The $150 million in federal funding announced this week is aimed at cutting the cancer death rate in half by 2047, the White House said .

What they're saying: When announcing the awards Tuesday, the president and first lady Jill Biden said they know the pain of cancer after the death of their son Beau and want to change that for others.

• "We are the land of possibilities," the president said, adding that the funding will help get new tools into operating rooms.

Zoom in: Nearly 2 million cancer diagnoses are made each year, and surgical removal is often the first treatment option, per a University of Washington news release .

• The University of Washington's award will help researchers develop new systems for visualizing the surface of tumors, making it easier for surgeons to see if there are any cancer cells left before completing a surgery.
• "The cutting-edge work happening at UW will help doctors get a full, accurate picture of the tumors they are working to treat, so they can make sure patients get the most effective care possible," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said in a news release this week.

Zoom out: Seven other teams are working on additional developments geared at making tumor removal surgeries more successful.

• The other awardees are Tulane University, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, the University of California in San Francisco, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Cision Vision in California.

By the numbers: The money is coming from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health federal program.

• In its first two years, ARPA-H has invested more than $400 million to fast-track progress on how Americans prevent, detect and treat cancer, the White House said.

Context: Biden now has about four months to cement his health care legacy since he withdrew from running for a second term.

• He ran for office primarily on a health care agenda and says his top accomplishments as president were lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and expanding coverage to a record number of Americans.
• In 2022, he revived the cancer moonshot effort he spearheaded as vice president.

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