Hyde-smith, Guest Announce $2.4 Million Grant Linked to UMMC Cancer Center

Friday, August 14, 2026 HYDE-SMITH, GUEST ANNOUNCE $2.4 MILLION GRANT LINKED TO UMMC CANCER CENTER Miss. Lawmakers Secured NIST Funding in FY2026 Appropriations to Renovate & Equip Research Space WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and U.S. Representative Michael Guest (R-Miss.) today announced the award of a $2.4 million federal grant to rehabilitate research space at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) as part of the research hospital’s long-term goal of being designated a National Cancer Institute (NCI). Hyde-Smith and Guest, who serve on the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, respectively, secured the FY2026 funding through the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The funding will be used to support the renovation and equipping of approximately 14,000 square feet of space in the UMMC Research Wing. “Upgrading this space at UMMC is just one more step toward creating a facility that will draw more cancer researchers to our state.  The world-class work done there, along with the planned UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute, is part of our goal to get that critical NCI designation, and I’m pleased to help reach these worthy goals,” Hyde-Smith said. “The University of Mississippi Medical Center has been a national leader in medicine since it hosted the first heart transplant in 1964.  Now, UMMC is taking a critical step in attaining its federal designation as a National Cancer Institute.  I am proud to serve UMMC through my work in Congress and will continue to support the institution’s legacy of excellence and its efforts to supercharge cancer research, deliver better health outcomes, and ultimately find a cure,” Guest said. The project will update research space that has not been renovated in nearly 30 years. The planned improvements will help expand and modernize the UMMC cancer research program. Serving on the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Hyde-Smith has consistently sought support from successive administrations to gain an NCI designation for UMMC, including at a May hearing to review the National Institutes of Health budget request. Currently, there is no NCI-designated cancer center in Mississippi, Louisiana, or Arkansas, which often requires patients in these states to travel significant distances for advanced cancer care. ### Issues Budget Education Health Care Region Capital Coast Delta East Central Golden Triangle North Mississippi Pine Belt Southwest