Rice University and Houston Methodist are joining forces to create a premier center where physicians, academic researchers and university students work side by side with student athletes, trainers and coaches to advance research and education in human performance. The Houston Methodist Rice University Center for Human Performance will facilitate joint research, clinical care initiatives and educational activities in exercise physiology, injury prevention and rehabilitation. “By partnering with Rice University, we have a unique opportunity to work together to advance our body of research and knowledge on human performance,” said Patrick McCulloch, MD, the John S. Dunn Chair of Orthopedics at Houston Methodist. “Researchers with the center will develop novel techniques to prevent, treat and recover from musculoskeletal injuries and diseases. Ultimately, these efforts will have a huge benefit for our patients at Houston Methodist. High-performance athletes, older adults and everyone in between will have access to treatment that is informed by the cutting-edge research undertaken at the center.”

In a new study published in Nature Communications, Houston Methodist researchers have identified the genetic and molecular fingerprints of different cancer and immune cells in glioblastoma, the deadliest and most common type of brain cancer in adults. Their in-depth molecular analysis of over 200,000 single cells revealed a protein, S100A4, that could be a potential therapeutic target for restoring antitumor action of immune cells toward glioblastomas that have otherwise beguiled the immune system into protecting it. Read more in digital Methodology.