Zachary Watson, PhDUniversity of Colorado DenverAurora, CO The influence of bone marrow-derived adipocytes on pro-tumor signaling and lipid metabolism in ovarian cancer Dr. Watson is investigating a potential driver of ovarian cancer development to lay the foundation for discovering new early detection and treatment strategies. Ovarian cancer spreads aggressively into abdominal fat deposits, which often […]
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Utthara Nayar, PhDJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD Estrogen receptor mutations as a novel biomarker for response to endocrine therapy in ovarian cancer Dr. Nayar is pursuing a fast track to the clinical testing of a new treatment for low-grade serous ovarian cancers (LGSOCs). Some LGSOCs develop mutations in the estrogen receptor (ER) molecule and stop responding […]
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Lori Brotto, PhDThe University of British Columbia2022 Maxine & Julie Eisen Pilot Study Award eSense Cancer: Adapting an online intervention for sexual health concerns to ovarian cancer Sexual health concerns are common after treatment of ovarian cancer, yet effective and accessible treatments to manage those concerns are not available. Dr. Brotto’s team has developed an […]
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Priyanka Verma, PhDWashington University, St. Louis2022 MCM Pilot Study Award Targeting drug resistance in BRCA-mutant ovarian cancers by exploiting endogenous base damage Many ovarian cancers are caused by mutations in proteins that usually function to repair DNA damage. These cancer cells with accumulated DNA damage are targeted by PARP inhibitor therapies. Despite ovarian tumors showing […]
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Hector Franco, PhDUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill2022 Lester and Bernice Smith Pilot Study Award Identifying Drivers of Therapeutic Resistance in Ovarian Cancer at Single-Cell Resolution Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers among women worldwide. Most women respond well to the standard treatment; however, up to 75% of these patients experience a recurrence […]
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Toni Antalis, PhDUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore2022 Rosser Family Pilot Study Award Emerging roles of MASP activation in ovarian cancer metastasis and acquired chemoresistance While ovarian cancer responds well to initial treatments, it frequently returns due to acquired chemotherapy resistance. Although chemotherapies aim slow or stop tumor growth, cancer cells continue to evolve between chemotherapy cycles. […]
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Weei-Chin Lin, MD, PhD Baylor College of Medicine Houston, Texas Novel approaches to target MYC in ovarian cancer Many ovarian cancers express the cancer-causing MYC protein at unusually high levels. The activation of MYC is a hallmark of cancer initiation, progression, and resistance to therapy. Unfortunately, MYC is one of the most difficult proteins to […]
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Combining MEK inhibition with oncolytic viral therapy as a novel treatment for low grade serous ovarian carcinoma Low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSC) is a rare form of ovarian cancer accounting for about 5% of ovarian cancer cases. While LGSC grows relatively slowly, it is stubbornly resistant to almost all therapeutics. As a result, outcomes […]
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Multimodal single-cell surfaceome and transcriptome profiling of longitudinal high-grade ovarian cancer ascites samples Despite advances in the initial treatment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), recurrence of the disease is very common and effective treatment of recurrent HGSOC remains a major challenge. In order for a tumor to gain resistance to chemotherapy and progress into […]
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Matjaz Barboric, PhDUniversity of Helsinki 2020 James A. Harting Pilot Study Award Targeting transcriptional kinases for novel ovarian cancer therapies Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer. Identifying druggable Achilles’ heels of ovarian cancer can lead to new treatments. In order to do this, Dr. Barboric will target critical enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases (tCDKs) which […]
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