The Cockrell Center for Advanced Therapeutics (CCAT) fulfills a crucial role in carrying out the cycle of a cure at Houston Methodist: It provides a place and a process for conducting clinical trials. CCAT brings together world-class medical minds and first-class facilities to study novel therapies for various medical conditions, while delivering customized and compassionate care. CCAT’s early phase clinical trial centers conduct a broad range of studies by partnering with pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device organizations, as well as federal agencies, foundations and other academic medical centers.

The importance of establishing a center to conduct clinical trials was recognized by Ernest H. Cockrell, longtime Houston Methodist supporter and a life member of the hospital’s board of directors. As a driving force in the Research Institute’s inception, he was instrumental in bringing it to life. Each year since 2009, The Cockrell Foundation has made a generous gift toward an endowment that supports the CCAT, which opened its Phase I clinical trials unit in 2015. The Cockrell Center for Advanced Therapeutics, located in the heart of Houston Methodist’s main campus, bridges the Research Institute building to the main hospital. It unites physicians, scientists and patients to test therapies for the most promising “bench to bedside” translational research. Its success has led to adding five clinical trial sites systemwide to serve patients across the Houston community.